Salt Lake City – Richard Roby scored 22 points, and teammate Jermyl Jackson-Wilson made a free throw with 2.1 seconds remaining to lift Colorado to a 60-59 victory over Utah on Tuesday night.
Jackson-Wilson missed his second of two free throws, and the Utes rebounded and called time out with 1.8 seconds left.
But Lawrence Borhas’ desperation 3-pointer missed badly as time expired.
The victory was the first for the Buffaloes (2-2) after back-to-back blowout losses, while the Utes fell to an 0-3 start for the first time since 1970.
Johnnie Bryant scored 20 points for the Utes, including 11 in a row to start the second half, and Luke Nevill added 14 points and 10 rebounds.
But the Utes committed two crucial turnovers in the final minute with the game tied 59-59.
The first came on a bad pass after Utah’s Shaun Green drew a charging foul on Roby.
The second came when the Utes lost the ball on a fast break after a blocked shot by Nevill.
Borha fouled Jackson-Wilson in the ensuing scramble to set up the winning free throws.
Kalvin Bay scored 11 points and Jackson-Wilson added 10 for the Buffaloes, who forced 17 turnovers and held the Utes to 43.6 percent shooting.
The Buffs led 26-22 at halftime.
The teams combined for 17 turnovers in the first half, and the Utes made 6-of-22 shots. Neither team led by more than six points.
The Buffaloes host Wyoming on Sunday at 2 p.m.
COLORADO (2-2)
Williams 0-3 0-0 0, King-Stockton 0-3 0-0 0, Coleman 2-4 1-2 6, Roby 8-22 3-3 22, Bay 4-9 0-0 11, Thorne 0-0 0-0 0, Silas 3-5 0-0 7, Jackson-Wilson 4-7 2-4 10, Kowal 2-3 0-0 4, Beckley 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-56 6-9 60.
UTAH (0-3)
Weigh 0-3 0-2 0, Deane 0-1 2-2 2, Nevill 4-6 6-8 14, Bryant 6-12 2-2 20, Borha 4-10 0-0 8, Eatmon 0-1 0-0 0, Drca 0-0 0-0 0, Tillie 0-1 0-0 0, Green 3-4 3-4 11, Johns 0-1 2-2 2, Foster 0-1 2-2 2. Totals 17-40 17-22 59.
Halftime – Colorado 26-22. 3-point goals – Colorado 8-18 (Bay 3-7, Roby 3-8, Coleman 1-1, Silas 1-1, Williams 0-1), Utah 8-16 (Bryant 6-9, Green 2-2, Weigh 0-2, Borha 0-3). Fouled out – None. Rebounds – Colorado 29 (Roby 7), Utah 31 (Nevill 10). Assists – Colorado 14 (Coleman 4), Utah 13 (Borha 4). Total fouls – Colorado 22, Utah 14. A – 9,019.
