BOULDER — Colorado had six players in double-figure scoring Friday and the Buffaloes rolled to a 90-68 win over Northern Colorado at the CU Events Center.

Tad Boyle‘s Buffs improved to 8-2 with their third straight win while the Bears fell to 4-6.

One of Boyle’s main goals all week had been to make sure the Buffs didn’t experience a letdown in the wake of last Sunday’s big 90-63 win over No. 15 Miami.

Colorado put those worries to rest in a hurry. The Buffs used a 21-5 surge over the final nine minutes of the first half to take a 48-27 lead at the break, then opened the second half with a 22-7 run to put the game away.

Guard KJ Simpson led CU in scoring with 21 points to go with five steals, five rebounds and four assists. Eddie Lampkin Jr. recorded his second double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds to go with six assists, J’Vonne Hadley tallied 15 points and six assists, Luke O’Brien scored 14, Tristan da Silva added 12 and Julian Hammond chipped in 10.

Saint Thomas led UNC with 27 points, but he shot just 10-for-22.

Colorado finished with 23 assists, the Buffs’ sixth game this season with at least 20 assists. CU shot 49 percent from the floor (35-for-71) and held a 43-32 edge on the boards.

Defensively, the Buffs held UNC to 42 percent shooting (25-for-60) and also forced 15 Bears turnovers, which Colorado converted into 28 points.

CU hit the 90-point barrier for the fifth time this season and Colorado improved to 95-8 in home non-conference games in the Boyle era.

“Overall — you get 23 assists and six guys in double figures, that’s good,” Boyle said. “Our team is starting to come together.”

HOW IT HAPPENED: Colorado fell behind in the opening minutes but  took the lead four minutes in when a Hadley bucket gave the Buffs an 8-7 edge.

CU never trailed again.

After missing their first two shots of the game, the Buffs hit their next 11 in a row to take a 24-15 edge with 11:33 on a Simpson basket before the Bears momentarily closed the gap, shaving Colorado’s lead to five, 27-22, on back-to-back baskets inside.

But the Buffs then took control for good, outscoring the Bears 21-5 over the final nine minutes of the half to take a 48-27 lead into the break.

Da Silva had five points early in the run to push CU’s lead into double digits. Simpson then added back-to-back baskets, including a steal and breakaway dunk, before nailing a long 3-pointer to give the Buffs a 20-point edge, 45-25, and CU took a 21-point cushion into halftime, 48-27.

“These games can be trap games if you feel too comfortable after beating a really good team like Miami,” Simpson said. “That’s why we wanted to set the tone with our defense.”

The Buffs dominated nearly every statistical category in the opening 20 minutes. CU had 13 assists in the half — including four from big man Lampkin — and the Buffs defense forced 10 UNC turnovers which the Buffs converted into 19 points.

CU shot 56 percent from the floor in the half (20-for-36) while enjoying a 28-18 edge in points in the paint.

Colorado made sure the Bears harbored no thoughts of a comeback in the second half. The Buffs outscored UNC 22-7 over the first six minutes of the period to take a 36-point lead, 70-34, with Simpson recording another steal and dunk in the surge and O’Brien adding a pair of 3-pointers.

The Bears never threatened to slice the margin under 20 again.

Simpson continues to make his case as being one of the best point guards in the country. Friday was his sixth game with at least 20 points and he now has three times as many assists (44) than turnovers (14) to go with his 20 steals.

“We’re starting to rely on KJ like we used to rely on McKinley (Wright), both offensively and defensively,” Boyle said. “He’s playing at an elite level. If there’s nine better point guards in the country, I want to see them. There’s some good point guards in college basketball this year and KJ Simpson is one of them and to me he’s a top 10 guard in the country.”

TURNING POINT: After UNC cut Colorado’s lead to five midway through the first half, the Buffs went on a quick 11-2 run to push their lead double digits and the Bears never threatened again.

WHAT IT MEANS: The Buffs improved to 6-0 at home and made sure there was no letdown after a big win over Miami.

KEY STATISTICS: Colorado finished with 23 assists, the Buffs’ sixth game this season with at least 20 assists … CU shot 49 percent from the floor (35-for-71) and held a 43-32 edge on the boards … Colorado held UNC to 42 percent shooting (25-for-60) and also forced 15 Bears turnovers, which Colorado converted into 28 points.

NEXT UP: The Buffaloes wrap up their non-conference schedule next Thursday with a 5 p.m. home game against Utah Tech (Pac-12 Network) at the CU Events Center. Colorado then opens Pac-12 play with home games against Washington (Dec. 29) and Washington State (Dec. 31).

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Story by Neill Woelk, Contributing Editor for CUBuffs.com. Content courtesy of the University of Colorado at Boulder.