Quick break
Why the Buffs gained: CU outrebounded USC 47-22 and used a 17-3 run within the second half to get again within the sport.
Three stars:
1. CU’s KJ Simpson: The Buffs’ level guard placed on a present in his hometown, recording 30 factors, 9 rebounds and 5 assists with a career-high six 3-pointers.
2. USC’s Boogie Ellis: Matched Simpson’s 30 factors with 5 3-pointers and 5 assists.
3. CU’s Tristan da Silva: Wasn’t his finest capturing night time at 6-for-16, however he hit a key 3-pointer within the first time beyond regulation earlier than ending with 18 factors, eight rebounds and 4 assists.
Up subsequent: CU can have a slower week earlier than internet hosting Utah subsequent Saturday (7 p.m., Pac-12 Community).
LOS ANGELES — With one other gut-wrenching, highly-damaging defeat closing in, the Colorado males’s basketball crew lastly mentioned sufficient is sufficient.
In a sport dominated a lot of the best way by USC, the Buffaloes accomplished a livid comeback down the stretch, rallying for a 92-89 double-overtime time beyond regulation victory on the Galen Middle on Saturday.
CU rallied from down 16 factors to drive time beyond regulation on a KJ Simpson-to-Luke O’Brien dunk with 3.7 seconds remaining in regulation, finally successful a sport through which the Buffs appeared equally deflated and defeated halfway by the second half.
The Buffs had misplaced 4 of their earlier 5 video games, introduced a 1-7 report in true street video games into the Galen Middle, and completed with a season-high 21 turnovers, together with a season-high 19 in regulation. But CU nonetheless was in a position to escape Los Angeles with a two-game cut up due to a victory that, for the second, presents a life preserver to the Buffs’ postseason hopes.
The 16-point rally tied for the Eleventh-largest comeback victory in program historical past, and it was the fourth-largest in a real street sport.
“This crew’s toughness, their competitiveness, their combat, it’s by no means one thing that I’ve questioned. It’s by no means gone away,” CU head coach Tad Boyle mentioned. “We’ve come again from deficits like that earlier than and we did it once more tonight. I all the time say good groups can come again, nice groups can come again and win. I’m not saying we’re an amazing crew but, however we performed like one down the stretch right here tonight as a result of our guys confirmed unbelievable grit and toughness, each offensively and defensively over most likely the final quarter-hour of that sport.”
CU suffered a run of turnovers on 4 consecutive possessions late within the first half, then dedicated three extra on the primary three possessions of the second half because the Trojans progressively padded their 39-33 halftime lead. USC prolonged its result in 65-49 on a fast-break layup from Bronny James with 9 minutes, 52 seconds remaining when the Buffs’ fortunes abruptly altered.
O’Brien knocked down a 3-pointer that sparked the Buffs to a 17-3 run, trimming that 17-point deficit right down to 68-66 with Simpson capping the run on a 3-pointer with 3 minutes, 41 seconds remaining.
CU stayed inside one possession down the stretch earlier than O’Brien’s tying dunk within the waning seconds, and the Buffs took their first lead since a 15-14 benefit early within the first half on a driving bucket from Simpson halfway by the primary time beyond regulation. The Buffs appeared poised to finish the comeback within the first time beyond regulation when Tristan da Silva, who was 0-for-5 on 3-pointers to that time, knocked one down from the nook to present CU an 83-79 lead. USC, although, stored the Buffs off the scoreboard the remainder of the body whereas getting two free throws from Boogie Ellis and a driving layup from Isaiah Collier, sending the sport right into a second time beyond regulation.
“Generally we now have aggressive practices like that the place we do time-and-score drills and it simply occurs to enter time beyond regulation and retains going,” Simpson mentioned. “So we’ve gone towards ourselves doing it. One factor about us is our combat. We’re by no means going to surrender it doesn’t matter what the rating is. It simply was on full show tonight. I’m actually pleased with the crew.”
Simpson opened the second time beyond regulation along with his career-high sixth 3-pointer, and two free throws from O’Brien gave the Buffs a five-point lead they by no means relinquished. USC twice battled to inside a degree, however J’Vonne Hadley and Simpson every went 2-for-2 on free throws within the closing 2 minutes to carry off the Trojans.
As soon as a desperation three from Ellis on the buzzer was off the mark, CU celebrated its seventh win in 10 video games on the Galen Middle since becoming a member of the Trojans within the Pac-12.
Simpson loved a monster sport in entrance of a sizeable private cheering part in his hometown, going 6-for-9 from lengthy vary earlier than ending with 30 factors, 9 rebounds and 5 assists.
“The one means you might have that (17-3) run is if you happen to get stops defensively. And that’s one thing that we didn’t do the vast majority of the night,” Boyle mentioned. “We didn’t string stops collectively. However in that run, we did. It obtained us again within the sport and obtained us momentum and our guys began believing.”
COLORADO (17-9, 8-7)
Williams 5-6 4-6 14, da Silva 6-16 5-6 18, Lampkin Jr. 1-4 1-4 3, Hadley 5-8 3-3 13, Simpson 9-17 6-8 30, O’Brien 3-4 2-2 9, Hammond III 2-4 0-0 5, Diop 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-59 21-29 92.
USC (10-16, 4-11)
Rodman 2-6 2-3 6, Morgan 4-7 0-0 8, Johnson 6-13 0-0 14, Collier 9-19 5-7 25, Ellis 10-19 5-6 30, Iwuchukwu 0-1 0-0 0, James 1-2 0-1 2, Wright 1-3 0-0 2, Sellers 0-1 0-0 0, Web page 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 34-73 12-17 89.
Halftime — USC 39-33. 3-point area objectives — Colorado 9-20 (Williams 0-1, da Silva 1-6, Simpson 6-9, O’Brien 1-2, Hammond III 1-2); USC 9-21 (Rodman 0-1, Johnson 2-5, Collier 2-5, Ellis 5-9, Sellers 0-1). Rebounds — Colorado 47 (Hadley 10); USC 22 (Rodman, Morgan, Ellis 4). Assists — Colorado 15 (Simpson 5); USC 22 (Collier 9). Turnovers — Colorado 21 (Williams 7); USC 9 (Morgan, Ellis 2). Complete fouls — Colorado 15; USC 18. Fouled out — Morgan. Attendance — 6,142.