Another big lead vanishes, but CU Buffs come through at crunch time to top Arizona - The Denver Post

Colorado once again couldn’t take advantage after racing to a big lead at home. This time, however, the Buffaloes found a way to get the job done.

Once again the Buffaloes jumped to a big lead and couldn’t hold it. Yet unlike last week’s collapse against Utah, the Buffaloes managed to make the plays in the final minute, ultimately outlasting Arizona for an 82-79 victory on Saturday night at the CU Events Center.

CU forward Evan Battey went 4-for-4 on free throws in the final 15.3 seconds, breaking an 78-78 tie by knocking down a pair before icing the game with two more with 4.6 seconds remaining. It was the Buffs’ fourth consecutive home win against the Wildcats.

“That was a hard-fought win. A gut-check win. A win our guys had to fight for,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said. “Didn’t play our best in the second half. Give Arizona credit. They run good stuff, and they run it with pace and they execute. It’s as good an executing team offensively as we’ve played against, certainly in the second half.

“But we found enough offense. I thought our guys really trusted each other.”

CU jumped on Arizona early, holding the Wildcats without a field goal for the first eight and a half minutes of the game while scoring 19 consecutive points en route to a quick 19-2 lead.

CU still led by 16 points after a 3-pointer from McKinley Wright IV with just under four minutes left in the first half, but Arizona responded with an 11-1 run. A 3-pointer from CU guard Eli Parquet at the first-half buzzer gave the Buffs a 41-32 lead at the break.

The Wildcats kept pecking away, eventually taking the lead on a baseline fade-away from freshman forward Azuolas Tubelis. Arizona still led by three points with a minute and a half remaining when another clutch 3-pointer from Parquet evened the score at 76-76 with 1:10 to go.

Wright and Arizona’s Christian Koloko traded baskets, before a pair of free throws from Battey gave the Buffs an 80-78 lead with 15.3 seconds remaining. Arizona’s Terrell Brown made just 1 of 2 free throws on the other end, and when Brown fouled Battey on the ensuing inbounds play, Battey’s left ankle got rolled underneath Brown.

Grimacing and limping, Battey received a little pep talk from Wright before calmly knocking down two more free throws with 4.6 seconds left to give the Buffs a three-point lead. A desperation heave from Arizona’s James Akinjo went awry at the buzzer, and CU avoided a second consecutive home loss.

Battey went 7-for-9 from the field and 7-for-7 at the free throw line, matching his career-high with 21 points.

“I want the ball in my hands down the stretch,” Battey said. “Me and McKinley, we practice every day on just doing the right thing every time and making the right play. I think I’ve earned the right to put the game away and my teammates were behind me. That really gave me strength to shoot those because I really couldn’t walk.”

While Battey’s injury is not believed to be serious, the Buffs played without freshman forward Jabari Walker, who suffered a left foot injury and likely will be sidelined “another couple weeks,” according to Boyle. Without Walker, CU was outrebounded for the fourth consecutive game and allowed U of A to shoot  68% (17-for-25) in the second half.

“Evan Battey was a beast in the second half,” Boyle said. “The first half, I thought he was rushing things a little bit. He showed great gumption there getting his ankle rolled up on and staying in the game.”

Colorado 82, Arizona 79

ARIZONA (13-6, 7-6 Pac-12)A.Tubelis 7-11 2-2 18, Koloko 2-3 2-2 6, Akinjo 4-12 8-8 16, T.Brown 2-5 1-2 5, Terry 1-3 0-0 2, Mathurin 7-9 4-5 22, J.Brown 3-7 1-4 7, Kriisa 1-4 0-0 3, Lee 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-55 18-23 79.COLORADO (14-5, 8-4 Pac-12)Battey 7-9 7-7 21, Walton 2-6 0-0 5, Parquet 3-5 0-0 8, Wright 6-10 4-4 17, Schwartz 3-7 1-2 9, Horne 4-7 0-0 10, Daniels 1-3 0-0 3, da Silva 2-3 1-2 6, Barthelemy 1-2 0-0 3, Strating 0-0 0-2 0. Totals 29-52 13-17 82.Halftime — Colorado 41-32. 3-point goals — Arizona 7-17 (Mathurin 4-5, A.Tubelis 2-5, Kriisa 1-4, Terry 0-1, Akinjo 0-2), Colorado 11-20 (Parquet 2-3, Horne 2-4, Schwartz 2-4, Barthelemy 1-1, da Silva 1-1, Daniels 1-2, Walton 1-2, Wright 1-3). Rebounds — Arizona 29 (Koloko 5), Colorado 22 (Battey, Horne 3). Assists — Arizona 18 (Akinjo 7), Colorado 15 (Wright 6). Total fouls — Arizona 15, Colorado 21. A — 74 (11,064).

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