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Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
The RMS hardwood battle was over before it started in the second half
KJ Simpson led all scorers with 27 points as the Colorado Buffaloes took care of in-state rival Colorado State 93-65 on Thursday night.
The latest edition of the Rocky Mountain Showdown started out with both teams evenly matched. CU took a 38-30 lead going into halftime, but the second half was a much different story as CSU fell flat and couldn’t recover. A 7-2 run to start the final period was just the start of things to come. Simpson racked up almost half of his points in the first thirteen minutes of the half, putting CSU down by double-digits.
Colorado opened it up to a 28-point lead on Luke O’ Brien’s dunk with 5:56 left. He finished with 10 points on the night as the only CU player off the bench in double-figures.
A strong game from the Buffs’ starters with 15 points from Tristan da Silva and 13 points from Nique Clifford. J’vonne Hadley had a near double-double with 9 points to go along with nine rebounds. CU’s starting five outscored CSU’s by a total of 66-40.
Isaiah Stevens was the only Rams’ starter in double-figures with 15 points. He was joined by Taviontae Jackson with 10 points off the bench in a losing effort.
Colorado (5-5) is back to .500 in the early part of the 2022-23 season. All but one of their losses have come on the road in the first ten games. However, they stay home to face North Alabama and Northern Colorado over the course of the next ten days.
Colorado State (6-4) remains winless on the road in their second game away from Fort Collins. They’re also atop the Mountain West standings despite the loss and move on to face Peru State College on Dec. 11.
CU’s new football coach Deion Sanders was on hand for his first basketball game in Boulder and was greeted with a rousing standing ovation when he was introduced. Coach Prime will remain on campus before heading to Atlanta for next weekend’s Celebration Bowl, his final game at Jackson State.
by Jeff Hauser
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