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Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
The Buffs sent their seniors out on a high note
On a night where Colorado Basketball celebrated the careers of Tristan da Silva and Luke O’Brien, the Buffaloes took down the Stanford Cardinal by a score of 81-71.
The Buffs’ decisive 10 point victory had its ups and downs. Stanford started the game off on a heater, hitting 9 of their first 12 shots from the field. The Cardinal also employed a weird half-court press to try to slow down Colorado’s guards, particularly KJ Simpson, which clearly threw the Buffaloes for a loop.
After halfway through the first half, while down 5 points, things started clicking for the Buffs. Putting three defenders on Simpson left Eddie Lampkin wide open in the low-post and he got to work.
Colorado’s center made three layups in the span of about a minute and a half of game clock, swinging the momentum fully in the Buffs’ camp. That momentum proved to be invaluable for Colorado, as the Buffs went on a 23-6 run immediately after.
That run separated the two teams, giving the Buffs a 44-37 lead going into the break. Pretty much everyone got in on the scoring action, but the definite highlight was a beautiful block-and-slam from Bangot Dak. Much like Assane Diop did against Utah, Colorado’s promising freshman came off the bench and gave the shorthanded Buffaloes some quality minutes when they really needed them.
As soon as the second half started, the game was pretty much curtains. Tristan da Silva came back from the break with a vengeance, hitting his first four three-pointers to further separate the squads. KJ Simpson got into the three point action as well, making two shots of his own from beyond the arc.
Simpson and da Silva combined for 10 threes on 19 attempts on Sunday, showing just how dominant Colorado’s dynamic duo can be. That three-point bonanza led to Colorado’s lead ballooning to 20 points with 6:15 left to play.
Down the stretch, the Buffs got ref-balled a little bit. Colorado got called for five fouls in that 6:15 period by Tony Padilla and his crew, a couple of which were... questionable at best, allowing Stanford to cut the lead down slightly. The cool thing about having a 20 point lead though is that the refs can’t really screw you over, as Colorado cruised to a 10 point win.
Tristan da Silva really shined on his senior night, finishing the contest with a 27 point, 11 assist double-double. KJ Simpson followed up his string of 20+ point performances with yet another one, racking up 22 against Stanford. Two other Buffs, J’Vonne Hadley (15 points) and Eddie Lampkin (11 points), finished the game in double figures.
The Buffs did what they needed to do this week, beating both Cal and Stanford to keep their tournament hopes alive. Colorado’s record now moves to 20-9, making 2023-24 the 10th 20 win season under Tad Boyle in Boudler. The Buffs’ next game will be a Q1 matchup with the Oregon Ducks in Eugene on Thursday. If CU can manage to come away with a win, they’ll finally pick up that solid Q1 win that their resume desperately needs.
by RylandScholes
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