Utah Utes vs Colorado Buffaloes Match Player Stats On Mar 04, 2023

Nique Clifford had 14 points and 11 rebounds, Tristan da Silva and Julian Hammond III each scored 15 points and Colorado beat Utah 69-60 in Boulder, Colo., on Saturday.

Ethan Wright added 10 points for Colorado, which snapped a three-game losing streak. The Buffaloes (16-15, 8-12 Pac-12) finished tied with Washington for eighth in the Pac-12 Conference.

Rollie Worster scored 15 points, Branden Carlson added 13 points and 10 rebounds and Lazar Stefanovic scored 12 points for Utah (17-14, 10-10). The Utes have dropped five straight to put their hopes for an NCAA Tournament bid in danger.

After a slow start, Colorado's offense started to heat up in the first half. Jalen Gabbidon hit a 3-pointer and da Silva drained two from deep to put the Buffaloes ahead 15-7 with 11:35 left to play before the break.

Utah scored the next five points, but Colorado continued to build its lead. Clifford's 3-pointer and a three-point play by Hammond made it 23-14.

The Utes got within 27-21 before the Buffaloes scored the last six points of the half to lead 33-21 at intermission.

Wright made a pair of 3-pointers early in the second half to help Colorado take a 41-25 lead, its biggest of the game, but Utah chipped away. Worster made two free throws and Gabe Madsen hit a trio of 3-pointers to cut the deficit to 44-36 with 13:54 left.

The teams traded buckets to keep it an eight-point margin until the Buffaloes expanded the lead to 52-40 on baskets by Clifford and Hammond. Utah got the deficit to nine before Hammond and Worster both made two free throws and Lawson Lovering's dunk put Colorado up 58-47 with 5:26 remaining.

Stefanovic's 3-pointer got the Utes within eight again, but Clifford answered with a triple of his own to put the Buffaloes ahead by 11 with 4:13 remaining.

Carlson's dunk with 1:46 left got the deficit into single digits and Stefanovic hit two late 3-pointers to get Utah within six with 22 seconds left.

Hammond's two free throws sealed it.

--Field Level Media