As far as tune-ups go, it hardly was a flawless one for the Colorado Buffaloes.
Yet it was more than enough for CU to pick up a win before setting their sights on one of the most impressive teams of the early stages of the college basketball season.
The Buffs offset a cold night from 3-point range with a stellar performance at the free throw line, eventually pulling away from a gritty Prairie View A&M club to post an 83-64 win Thursday night at the CU Events Center.
CU improved to 9-2 and will face a quick turnaround before taking on No. 13 Dayton Saturday evening at the United Center in Chicago.
The visiting Panthers kept within six points of the Buffs with 7 minutes, 48 seconds remaining before CU finally pulled away, scoring 10 consecutive points in what became a 14-1 CU run. Junior wing D’Shawn Schwartz, who had been 0-for-4 on 3-pointers, hit the first two of three consecutive 3-pointers during the run to spark the Buffs.
Evan Battey led four players in double-figures for the Buffs, as the redshirt sophomore finished with team-highs of 20 points and nine rebounds. Tyler Bey scored 13 points to go with seven rebounds, while Schwartz tallied all 13 of his points in the final 10 minutes. Point guard McKinley Wright recorded 11 points, seven rebounds, and six assists.
