ATHENS, Ga. — Gerald Robinson Jr. scored 21 points and Georgia overcame poor free- throw shooting to defeat Colorado 83-74 on Tuesday night.
Georgia won despite making only 27-of-43 free throws and blowing a first-half lead of 17 points.
Georgia led only 72-70 when Robinson scored on a layup to push the lead to four points with 1:32 remaining. After a turnover by Colorado, Dustin Ware made two free throws for a 76-70 lead.
Travis Leslie had 19 points before fouling out for Georgia (2-0). Jeremy Price had 17.
The Bulldogs beat Mississippi Valley State 72-70 in their opener before holding off the Buffaloes in another close game.
“You have to learn how to win these games,” Robinson said. “It’s easy to win blowout games, but winning close games brings you together and builds the confidence of everybody, which helps you win games in the future.”
Alec Burks had 23 points for Colorado (1-1), which suffered its first loss under first-year coach Tad Boyle.
“I thought that our fight, our grit and our competition was good, but we settled for way too many jump shots early,” Boyle said.
Cory Higgins added 15 points for the Buffaloes.
“We just needed a couple more stops toward the end,” Higgins said. “We’ve played in hostile environments before. The game was there for us to win, and we just didn’t come away with it.”
Georgia led 56-49 when Price went to the bench with four fouls. Bulldogs coach Mark Fox was forced to bring Price back three minutes later after Colorado took a 60-59 lead. Fouls hurt Georgia again when the Bulldogs, leading 68-64, had Leslie foul out.
Leslie missed an attempt at an open one-handed breakaway jam during the Colorado run, the ball bouncing off the back of the rim out of bounds.
Colorado scored 15 points off Georgia’s 13 turnovers in the half.
“We dug ourselves a hole, but then we got ourselves out of it because our defense really solidified in the last 15 minutes of the half,” Boyle said. “I think that (Georgia) is a good team and that we can take this and learn from it.”
Boyle was called for a technical foul with 9.9 seconds remaining when Higgins was called for his fifth foul.
“I told our guys if you fight and scratch and claw, I’ll do it with you,” Boyle said of his technical foul. “It’s a tough game out there.”
Northern Colorado 67, Wyoming 53
GREELEY — Devon Beitzel scored 20 points as the Bears defeated the Cowboys for the first time in 73 years.
Chris Kaba added 15 points and eight rebounds for the Bears (1-0), who had lost 20 consecutive games to Wyoming (1-1) dating to 1937.
Weber State 97, Colorado Christian 73
OGDEN, Utah — Damian Lillard, the Big Sky Conference’s reigning MVP and leading returning scorer, hit a 3-pointer, two free throws and a breakaway dunk to give the Wildcats (1-1) a 26-point lead with just over seven minutes left. Lillard finished with 25 points.
Women
Denver 70, Colorado 69
DENVER — Britteni Rice scored 19 points, converting four free throws in the final minute, and Kaetlyn Murdoch added 17 as the Pioneers (1-1) handed the Buffaloes their first loss.
Brittany Spears led Colorado (1-1) with 24 points and 10 rebounds, with her final of five 3-pointers coming at the buzzer for the final margin.
