The Colorado men’s basketball team received a tougher fight from a squad of all-stars during its third exhibition game in Costa Rica, though the Buffaloes eventually pulled away for the victory.
But that isn’t what anyone will remember.
The game was forced to end early when Buffs sophomore Jabari Walker shattered a backboard on a dunk attempt with about 2 minutes, 20 seconds remaining in the third quarter. With no backup hoop available, the game was called with the Buffs leading 68-54.
Given all the Buffs’ games were scheduled in the same arena, it remains unclear if a new hoop will be ready for the scheduled finale of CU’s trip at 8 p.m. MT Monday night.
Walker took a pass from Luke O’Brien and barreled down the lane for a wide-open dunk attempt that he actually missed. The backboard immediately crystallized and, after a very brief moment of hesitation, glass rained down. Walker was able to hop out of the way and apparently avoided any damage, as he soon was laughing with his teammates and posing for pictures after his once-in-a-lifetime basketball destruction.
It was an abrupt and completely unexpected end to what, to that point, had been the most competitive match of the trip so far for the Buffs. The all-star squad, Seleccion de Baloncesto, was hot early and held a two-point lead early in the second quarter until seven consecutive points from CU sophomore Tristan da Silva started the Buffs on a 12-2 run that gave them the lead for good.
The Buffs led 50-37 at halftime and pushed the lead to 17 points early in the third quarter before the sudden end of the contest.
Da Silva enjoyed his best game of the trip so far, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers and going 6-for-8 at the free throw line while leading CU with 12 points. Freshman guard KJ Simpson enjoyed another solid all-around game, flying around the court defensively before finishing with 11 points. Evan Battey scored seven of his nine points in the first quarter while guards Keeshawn Barthelemy and Julian Hammond chipped in with eight points apiece.
Overall, the Buffs shot .462 (24-for-52) and went 6-for-16 on 3-pointers. The Costa Rican all-stars finished with a .467 mark (21-for-45) from the field but went just 6-for-20 on 3-pointers. CU posted a 33-25 rebounding advantage.
