SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Timmy Allen had 21 points and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double and Sedrick Barefield scored 22 points to lead Utah to a 78-69 victory over Colorado on Sunday night.
Donnie Tillman added 11 points off the bench for the Utes. Utah (9-8, 3-2 Pac-12) has won seven in a row at home, and nine of its last 10 overall, against Colorado.
Shane Gatling scored 21 points to lead the Buffaloes. Daylen Kountz and Lucas Siewert added 13 points apiece. Colorado (10-7, 1-4 Pac-12) shot just 41 percent and lost for the sixth time in eight games.
McKinley Wright IV, Colorado’s starting point guard, did not play after suffering a left shoulder injury in the first half of the Buffaloes’ 77-70 loss to Washington on January 12th. Namon Wright returned to the lineup after missing three games with a foot injury.
Colorado committed seven turnovers in a span of two minutes, 47 seconds during a 25-4 run that gave the Utes a 34-11 lead with 5:49 left in the first half.
Utah’s defense kept the Buffaloes on their heels throughout the half. The Utes tallied nine steals and three blocked shots before halftime. They scored 14 points off turnovers and held Colorado to 9-of-30 (.300) shooting from the floor. The Buffaloes went scoreless for a stretch of nearly six minutes.
Colorado cut Utah’s lead to 70-60 with 3:28 left on three straight baskets from Kountz and Gatling. It was part of a run of five straight field goals for the Buffaloes.
Gach drained a 3-pointer to keep Colorado from trimming the deficit to single digits. Allen added another jumper a minute later to push Utah’s lead to 76-62 with 2:01 remaining.
THE BIG PICTURE
Colorado: Playing without Wright effectively short circuited the Buffaloes’ offense. Colorado struggled to adapt to Utah’s defensive pressure and committed a flurry of early turnovers to fuel a blowout win for the Utes. Getting Wright healthy and back in the lineup will be critical if the Buffaloes want to get on track in Pac-12 play.
Utah: The Utes charged into the ring on defense and never let their Rocky Mountain rival off the ropes until the closing minutes. It really opened things up for Utah on the other end. The Utes got several easy baskets in transition and were able to get plenty of early 3-pointers. It bodes well for Utah to keep climbing upward in the Pac-12.
UP NEXT
Colorado visits California on Thursday.
Utah visits Stanford on Thursday.
