SEATTLE — Colorado’s J’Vonne Hadley led five Buffaloes in double figures with 24 points Wednesday and Eddie Lampkin Jr. tallied his sixth double-double of the season as CU collected a 98-81 win over Washington at Alaska Airlines Arena.
Tad Boyle‘s Buffs won their fourth in a row and collected their first true road win of the season to improve to 15-5 overall and 6-3 in Pac-12 play. Washington fell to 11-9, 3-6.
Hadley shot 8-for-10 from the floor and 7-for-8 from the free throw line to give him his best point total as a Buff. Lampkin scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and KJ Simpson had a terrific all-around night, finishing with 16 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Cody Williams added 19 points on 7-for-10 shooting and Tristan da Silvachipped in 10 points.
Keion Brooks led Washington with 19.
The Buffs took control in the first half to lead by nine at intermission, then extended their lead to as much as 21 after the break and Washington never really threatened down the stretch.
Both teams shot well from the field, with the Buffs hitting 55 percent of their attempts (33-for-60) while Washington shot 54 percent (33-for-61). But the big difference came at the free throw line, where CU hit 26 of its 28 attempts while the Huskies were just 10-for-18 from the stripe.
Colorado also held a dominant 38-22 edge on the boards, including 11 offensive rebounds that the Buffs converted into 15 second-chance points.
“I thought our guys really came together tonight,” Boyle said. “I told them for the last two days that now is the time to go get a road win — and they went out and did it. They played with great toughness, overcame some adversity early and were really dialed in.”
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Buffs took a nine-point lead into the break, 50-41, and quickly built their edge into double digits early in the second half.
Da Silva opened the half with a short jumper for the Buffs, then added a three-point play on CU’s next trip down the floor to give Colorado a 55-41 lead less than two minutes into the half. Washington then managed to narrow the deficit back to 10 before the Buffs took firm control for good with a 10-0 run.
Luke O’Brien started the surge with a bucket inside before Hadley scored four in a row to give CU a 67-51 edge.
Hadley missed the final few minutes of the first half after taking a vicious shot to the face and Boyle said CU personnel evaluated him closely at halftime. But Hadley said he was fine and returned in the second half to play a key role in the victory.
“We knew we had to get the win,” Hadley said. “Colorado prides itself on defense and rebounding and we had to get that toughness back.
Washington called a timeout after CU’s quick 6-0 burst but the Buffs kept the pressure on after the break. Julian Hammond III hit two free throws with 11:08 to play and Lampkin followed with a bucket a minute later to give Colorado a 71-51 lead at midpoint of the half.
Washington then answered with a quick 6-0 run but Lampkin stopped the run with a tip-in and Colorado then maintained a comfortable lead down the stretch to collect the win.
“We had great efforts from a lot of people,” Boyle said. “KJ’s line — 16 points, eight assists, eight rebounds — is closing in on a triple double. At one point I’m thinking Cody isn’t having his best game and I look up and he has 19 points on 7-for-10 from the field and only one turnover. J’Vonne was just a warrior out there. We just had a lot of good play from a lot of guys.”
Now, after winning at UW for just the second time in 11 tries in the Boyle era, the Buffs will try to collect a road sweep Saturday at Washington State (3 p.m, Pac-12 Network).
“Now we have to try to build on it and we can’t be satisfied,” Boyle said. “I told the guys we have to stay hungry, have to stay humble. Washington State’s going to be a war because they’re a good team.”
After a slow start, neither team managed to string together defensive stops in the first half. Colorado took a four-point lead with 11:36 to play on a da Silva bucket and free throw after a behind-the-back pass from Lampkin but UW came back to momentarily take a 19-18 edge.
But the Buffs rallied to regain a 21-19 lead on three free throws from Simpson, then pushed their edge to five, 27-22, on a Williams 3-pointer.
The Huskies never led again.
The Buffs finally extended their cushion to seven on a Williams drive to the hoop with 4:13 to play, then took a nine-point lead on another Williams basket, fueled by an Assane Diop steal and assist.
UW then cut the margin back to six on a Moses Wood 3-pointer. Colorado, though, took its lead back to nine after a 3-pointer from Bangot Dak at the buzzer off a drive-and-dish from Williams, sending the Buffs into the break with a 50-41 edge.
DECISIVE STRETCH: Colorado held a nine-point lead at halftime, then opened the second half with a quick 5-0 burst and the Huskies never cut the deficit to single digits again.
WHAT IT MEANS: The Buffs are now in fourth place in the conference standings, just one game in the loss column behind Arizona, Oregon and Arizona State.
KEY STATISTICS: The Buffs hit 55 percent of their attempts (33-for-60) while Washington shot 54 percent (33-for-61) … The big difference came at the free throw line, where CU hit 26 of its 28 attempts while the Huskies were just 10-for-18 from the stripe … Colorado also held a dominant 38-22 edge on the boards, including 11 offensive rebounds that the Buffs converted into 15 second-chance points.
NEXT UP: The Buffs head to Pullman, Wash., on Saturday for a 3 p.m. game against Washington State (Pac-12 Network). They then wrap up their road trip on Feb. 3 with a 3 p.m. game at Utah (Pac-12 Network).
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Story by Neill Woelk, Contributing Editor for CUBuffs.com. Content courtesy of the University of Colorado at Boulder.