Colorado picks up steam in the final stretch of the season, rallies past California 70-62
A second-half Buffaloe’s stampede led Colorado to a 70-62 victory over the Golden Bears on Thursday Night at Haas Pavilion. Jabari Walker also continued his dominance in February against California, tallying 19 points and recording a career-high 15 rebounds for the second consecutive game.
The Buffaloes (17-9, 9-7 Pac-12) exited Berkeley, California extending their winning streak to four games. Jabari Walker who leads the PAC-12 in rebounds followed with an encore to his career night and has now extended his double-double streak to five games. Walker finished the game with 19 points and 15 rebounds.
The Buffs stumbled out of the gates, playing catchup throughout the first half after finding themselves down by as much as 11. California’s impenetrable defense forced Colorado to settle for difficult shots, which led them to score 28 points on 10-for-15 shooting in the first half. The Buffs entered halftime with a seven-point deficit.
Colorado freshman guard, K.J. Simpson, provided a much-needed spark off the bench for the Buffs, finishing with a career-high 18 points. CU shot an impressive 87% at the free-throw line, making 21 out of the 24 attempts, the most in a game since the first contest of the season.
With nearly four minutes to go in the first half, Colorado switched to a zone defense. This move shifted the momentum of the game as the defensive adjustment forced California sharpshooter, Grant Anticivic, to take low percentage shots. Anticivic finished with 11 points shooting just 36% from the field.
The Buffs rumbled into the second half a whole different team. They immediately set the pace, opening the half on a 14-1 scoring run. Aggressive interior play and high percentage looks highlighted a dominant second-half, in which Colorado never trailed.
Senior Evan Battey converted his two 3-point attempts and scored 18 points as well as pulling down six rebounds. It was an efficient night with the ball as well as Colorado only recorded ten turnovers, their lowest in the last 19 games.
The victory over California clinches Tad Boyle and the Buffs a seventh straight year of a winning record. Colorado will close out their three-game road trip against Stanford Saturday night at 8 PM with hopes of extending their win streak to five games.
