Colorado’s dominant first half pushes Buffs past Utes

Forward Bangot Dak shooting a free throw against the Utah Utes. He finished with a game-high nine free throws. (Photo by Ashton Scott/CUAthletics)

A 26-point halftime lead for Tad Boyle’s squad should have been enough for comfort. 

Yet, the Colorado Buffaloes (17-13, 7-10 Big 12) had to fight until the final buzzer to hold off the Utah Utes’ (10-20, 2-15) second-half push on Tuesday, beating them 92-78. 

Colorado’s 51-point half was its second-most points in a half this season and its first time breaking 50 points in a half in Big 12 play. The Buffs shot 68 percent from the field while holding the Utes to under 35 percent in the first 20 minutes. 

Despite missing forward Sebastian Rancik due to suffering an injury at practice, Colorado’s offense did just fine without its third-leading scorer. 

Forward Bangot Dak got the momentum started, scoring eight of the Buffs’ first 11 points. He finished the game tied as the Buffs’ leading scorer (22 points) with guard Isaiah Johnson. Dak dominated in the post, grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds and a game-high four blocks. 

Johnson continued his outstanding freshman campaign, shooting 6-for-10 from the field and contributing four assists and three steals. The star guard moved into second all-time on the Buffaloes’ freshman scoring list, passing Richard Roby. He is 15 points away from breaking the record, which is currently held by Alec Burks (512 points in 2009-10). 

Despite trailing by such a large margin coming out of the break, the Utes did not get discouraged and quickly began to chip away at the deficit. 

Guard Terrance Brown led the charge for Utah. He took over in the second half, scoring 17 of his game-high 26 points in the period. 

The Colorado defense completely collapsed in the final 20 minutes. After holding the Utes to under 35 percent from the field in the first half, the Buffs gave up 53 points in the second half on 17-for-23 (74 percent) from the floor.  

"It was a tale of two halves," Boyle said. "We were really, really good in the first half. In the second half, it was just the opposite. They made some tough shots. Credit to Utah for coming back, but I also credit our guys for stemming the tide."

Part of the reason for the Buffs’ first-half success was their ability to keep the Utes off the 3-point line (0-for-9) and force turnovers. Utah coughed the ball up nine times before the break, turning into 13 points for Colorado. 

The Utes flipped the script in the second half. They turned the ball over just once and shot lights out from beyond the arc, cashing 6-for-7 second-half three-pointers. 

Guard Don McHenry also capitalized on the Buffaloes lackluster defense, scoring 15 of his 19 points in the second half. 

The backcourt duo of Brown and McHenry combined for 60 percent of the Utes’ second-half points. Brown finished 10-for-17 (59 percent) from the floor with four assists and two rebounds.  

Against a more competitive team, like the No.2 Arizona Wildcats (28-2, 15-2), the Buffs need to improve their defensive effort and energy throughout the full 40 minutes to have a chance to compete. 

Colorado hosts Arizona in the last game of the regular season on Saturday night at 9 p.m. MT. (ESPN2).