Buffs lose senior night nailbiter to No. 2 Arizona

Buffs center Elijah Malone is CU's only senior, and he was honored in the pregame senior ceremony in addition to his season-high minute total (Photo by Christian Blanco/Sko Buffs Sports).

The Colorado Buffaloes (17-14, 7-11 Big 12) fell to the No. 2 Arizona Wildcats (29-2, 16-2) 89-79 in Saturday’s regular-season finale. The Buffaloes led at halftime, but defeated themselves with foul trouble and poor paint defense in the second half.

Despite center Elijah Malone missing his first two 3-pointers to open senior night, the Buffaloes got out of the gates with efficient shooting.

Guard Isaiah Johnson led the charge, shooting 4-for-6 from the field in the first half and 4-for-4 on free throws. Johnson’s 15 first-half points were all he needed to become the all-time leading scorer among Colorado freshmen. Johnson surpassed guard Alec Burks’ 512-point freshman campaign from the 2009-10 season.

“It definitely means a lot,” Johnson said. “That’s not easy to come by, being able to break that record. I’m just thankful for that.”

But it wasn’t just Johnson’s scoring that kept the Buffs ahead in the first half; it was their play in the paint. Malone recorded seven rebounds in the first half, asserting himself as a force to be reckoned with down low.

“The thing I like about Elijah is he gives you everything he’s got,” Colorado head coach Tad Boyle said postgame. “He’s a team-first guy.”

The grad-student recorded 29 minutes in his senior night performance, his most this season.

“[Malone] is playing with a shoulder injury that he’s going to have to have surgery on at the end of the year. I want people to understand that,” Boyle said. “...He battled with [his team] tonight and played 29 minutes…I’m really proud of Elijah.”

Colorado led for the entire first half, with its largest lead (11) coming at the 4:21 mark.

Arizona caught fire near the end of the first half, though, and cut Colorado’s lead to 38-36 at the break. This was largely due to the performance of freshman forward Koa Peat. He recorded 19 points in the first half, the most on his team by 10.

The Buffaloes went scoreless for 4:16 until the last six seconds of the half as well, opening the door for Arizona’s comeback.

Colorado’s shooting struggles caught up to it in the second half. While the Buffs traded buckets with the Wildcats early, Arizona went on an 8-0 run starting at the 17:41 mark that dug the Buffaloes a sizeable hole.

Peat continued to attack the paint while guard Brayden Burries caught fire after a slow first half. Burries finished as the game’s leading scorer with 31 points, shooting 9-for-16 from the field and 11-for-12 at the charity stripe.

Colorado also struggled with fouls early in the half, recording eight in as many minutes. That number matched the Buffs’ total in the first half.

As a result, the aggressiveness of CU’s defense dwindled as the game went along. So, rather than the Buffaloes’ paint defense improving as they had hoped, the lane only opened up over time.

“They scored 54 points in the paint,” Boyle said. “...That was the reason they won the game…So that’s really what it comes down to, our inability to [defend the paint].”

Arizona kept its lead comfortable down the stretch, rallying behind its well-traveled fans to close out the contest.

“Our fans are our force,” Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd said. “Our fans are the backbone of our program…we love coming on the road and hearing the ‘U of A’ chant.”

The Buffaloes now turn their attention to the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City, Missouri, where they will face the No. 14-seeded Oklahoma State Cowboys (18-13, 6-12). The first-round matchup is set for Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. MT (ESPN+).