Colorado finishes with a winning record with senior night win over Utah

BOULDER – In the last game of regular season play, Colorado (16-15, 8-12 Pac-12) handed a struggling Utah (17-14, 10-10 Pac-12) squad their fifth loss in a row, winning 69-60 on the Buffs’ senior night.

“We are either going to finish this year with a winning record or a losing record in the regular season… it’s your choice,” head coach Tad Boyle told his guys before the win.

Despite Jalen Gabbidon returning to the lineup after a two-game absence, the Buffs still came into the match short-handed as KJ Simpson was a late scratch due to illness. To make matters worse, leading scorer Tristan da Silva came off the bench due to an injury suffered against UCLA.

However, multiple Buffs stepped up in a special win for the Colorado seniors. It was clear that the Buffs had made their decision in response to Boyle’s pregame proposition.

Julian Hammond III and Ethan Wright carried the guards for the Buffaloes with Simpson out as Hammond scored 15 points and dished out five assists along with five steals in a season-high 36 minutes of play. Wright, in his third start of the season, finished with 10 points, four rebounds, and two assists in his final game at the CU Events Center.

“He was terrific tonight,” Boyle said about Wright to the crowd during the senior celebration after the game. “We probably wouldn’t have won tonight without him.”

Hammond’s performance was one of his best of the season as well as one of the best performances by a guard in the Pac-12 this year. 

“He was ready when his number was called,” Boyle said about Hammond. “That’s what you have to have… and we got that tonight.”

But the Buffs didn’t stop there. Nique Clifford recorded his first career double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds while Tristan da Silva poured in 15 points despite playing limited minutes due to injury.

“I felt comfortable,” da Silva said about his injury. “It felt stable enough to push through and play today.”

Clifford’s 11 rebounds were good for a career-high.

“A few games ago I had zero rebounds,” Clifford said. “I got to be a better rebounder… so I took that personally.”

For the opposing squad, Utah guard Rollie Worster led the scoring charge with 15 points on 5-for-8 shooting. Worster was the only Utah player to shoot over 33.3 percent on the night on more than one shot from the field.

The Utah shooting struggles started early as Colorado came out in an unexpected zone. With Hammond and Wright starting in place of Simpson and da Silva, the Buffs decided to start in zone defense to make up for their lack of height. But with much success, Colorado ended up sticking with zone nearly the whole game.

“We weren’t planning on going zone the whole game,” Clifford said. “It worked out really well for us so we just stayed in it.”

As the Utes failed to make shots, the Buffs cashed in as they went on a 13-2 run early in the first half, jump-started by a Jalen Gabbidon three-pointer. Da Silva kept the run going, knocking down two straight three-point jumpers for the Buffs, forcing a Utah timeout.

With momentum in their favor, da Silva and the Buffs continued to score the ball with ease. Coming out of the timeout, da Silva had an and-one putback with Nique Clifford hitting an off-the-dribble three-pointer on the next possession.

“Nique was terrific tonight,” Boyle said. “Defensively, rebounding the basketball for us, and he made some shots.”

The Buffs extended their lead to nine points after the run, making the score 23-14 after a Hammond and-one layup.

For the Utes, Worster was the only answer they had to offer with the rest of Utah’s starting lineup shooting a combined 5-for-19 from the field in the first half.

“A lot of guys stepped up in different positions,” Clifford said. “We ran them off the line and rebounded well. It was a really good game plan by the coaches.”

As Utah’s shooting worsened, momentum continued to build for the flaming hot Buffs.

Entering the last minute of the half, Colorado went showtime as Hammond pulled two defenders on a drive before dropping off a pass to Lawson Lovering for a two-handed jam on opposing seven-footer Branden Carlson.

With the Colorado faithful tapping their heads, the Buffs forced Utah into a bad shot, giving the Buffs a last-second opportunity. As an errant pass was saved by Luke O’Brien, O’Brien regained his footing, draining a midrange jumper with 0.3 seconds left on the clock.

Heading into the break up 33-21, the CU Events Center was as loud as they had been all year. The crowd roared as the Buffs were in obvious control of the game.

Luckily, the second half brought just as much fun.

Coming out of the locker room, Boyle drew up a play for Wright to get an open three. As the guard swished the jumper to start the half, the crowd was right back into it.

Building off the energy, Wright found himself open for three once again, splashing his second straight three-pointer in a row and giving Colorado a 39-23 lead.

“It was nice to see a couple of those threes go in,” Boyle said about Wright.

With the Buffs up 16, their defense let off the gas briefly as sharp-shooting junior Gabe Madsen got loose with back-to-back three-pointers of his own.

But on a night like this one, Utah’s sudden scoring burst was no match for the offensive success Colorado enjoyed all night long. As Utah scored a bucket, the Buffaloes answered right back with a basket of their own.

“If we just share the ball and move it like we did tonight, we are going to be pretty good down the stretch,” Boyle said.

As the second half continued, so did the trend of trading baskets.

Unfortunately for the Utes, trading baskets wasn’t going to get them back in the game as the 16-point lead Colorado built was too big of a hill to climb. 

With 12 seconds left, the Buffs put the cherry on top of the dominant win as senior Cody Mains checked into the game for his final time at the CU Events Center while Wright was at the line. With the crowd on their feet, Wright knocked down his second free throw of two, officially putting the game out of reach.

“The feeling that comes to mind is just grateful,” Wright said about his time in Boulder after the heart-felt win. “I’ve only been here for a year, but these guys are my brothers.”

As the final seconds of the CU Events Center’s 2022-23 season ticked away, the arena cheered as loud as they had all night. Colorado won one last time for their departing seniors, heading into the Pac-12 tournament on a high note.

The ninth-seeded Colorado Buffaloes will head to Las Vegas to play the eighth-seeded Washington Huskies on Wednesday. The Buffaloes are 0-2 against the Huskies this season, and with Boyle confirming Simpson’s inactivity for the tournament, Colorado will have to fight hard to advance. But, Boyle knows that March basketball isn’t always like the regular season.

“It’s not always the best team that wins, it’s the team that plays the best and gets hot at the right times,” Boyle said when asked about the Pac-12 tournament. “We have to go there thinking we got to beat Washington.”

Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. and will be streamable on the Pac-12 Network.