The Colorado Buffaloes found a way Saturday night. After trailing for nearly 35 minutes of gameplay, the Buffs — led by
— rallied to defeat the Utah Utes at home by the final score of 81-76.
Colorado had their hands full with Utah Utes center Branden Carlson. The big man was a force in the paint, scoring a game-high 25 points on 11-of-19 shooting, including eight rebounds and shooting 2-of-4 from distance.
The Utes had four of their five starters score in double-figures. However, the bench failed to do their part in a tightly contested game, mustering just four points in 45 combined minutes. They went a combined 1-for-8 from the field.
Walker did everything he could to ensure his Buffs got the victory Saturday night at the Coors Event Center. Jabari dealt with foul trouble the majority of the game but made an impact when he was in.
He finished with a team-high 22 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including scoring the final 11 points in the final five minutes of regulation. Jabari notched yet another double-double, hauling down 13 rebounds while also collecting two steals.
The Buffs starting five all scored in double-figures, led by Walker with 22. Evan Battey scored 16, Keeshawn Barthelemy and Tristan da Silva each chipped in 14 while Nique Clifford went a perfect 4-of-4 from the field with 10 points.
The Buffs (15-9, 7-7 in Pac-12) have somewhat of a favorable schedule coming up and could pay dividends down the stretch if they rack up some of these wins.
Colorado travels to Oregon State Tuesday night to start a three-game road trip. Colorado will then take on California and Stanford to cap off said road trip.
These are three very important games for the Buffs as they look to try and get some good positioning for the Pac-12 tournament as the season continues to unwind.