CORVALLIS, Ore.— Just like a few weeks ago, Colorado began its atypical three-game conference road trip with a solid victory.
Now the challenge will be to not let the momentum evaporate as the week continues.
CU got its final extended road trip of the regular season off to an impressive start on Tuesday, posting a 90-64 win against Oregon State at Gill Coliseum. The win secured a regular season sweep of the Beavers by CU and extended the Buffs’ winning streak to three games.
CU ended the first half with a flourish, using a 14-2 run to take a 44-32 lead at the break. If there was a significant flaw in what otherwise was a superb first half for the Buffs it was their eight turnovers, and that same issue helped the Beavers get back in the game immediately after halftime. CU committed three more turnovers during the first three minutes of the second half, leading to a 9-2 OSU run.
The Beavers eventually made it a 12-4 run that cut CU’s lead to 48-44 with just under 15 minutes remaining. OSU remained within six points midway through the second half when the Buffs took control with a 9-2 run, getting five points during that burst from sophomore Luke O’Brien.
O’Brien continued his recent surge off the bench by hitting three 3-pointers and finishing with 14 points, both of which were career-highs.
Five players scored in double figures for CU, led by the fourth consecutive double-double from Jabari Walker. The sophomore forward went 10-for-10 at the free throw line before matching a career-high with 24 points while recording a career-high 15 rebounds. Nique Clifford (14 points, seven rebounds, four assists) and Tristan da Silva (15 points, five rebounds, four assists) both turned in solid all-around games for the Buffs.
CU (16-9, 8-7 Pac-12) went 10-for-21 on 3-pointers while holding Oregon State to a 3-for-18 mark from the arc.
Colorado 90, Oregon St. 64
COLORADO (16-9)
Battey 1-4 2-2 4, Walker 6-12 10-10 24, da Silva 4-6 5-6 15, Barthelemy 3-10 0-0 7, Clifford 6-10 0-1 14, O’Brien 5-6 1-3 14, Simpson 5-12 0-0 10, Hammond 1-2 0-0 2, Loughlin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-62 18-22 90.
OREGON ST. (3-20)
Alatishe 4-10 0-0 8, Taylor 4-7 0-0 8, Silva 2-3 0-0 4, Davis 9-17 3-3 22, Lucas 2-12 2-3 7, Calloo 4-9 0-1 9, Rand 3-5 0-0 6. Totals 28-63 5-7 64.
Halftime — Colorado 44-32. 3-point goals — Colorado 10-21 (O’Brien 3-4, Clifford 2-3, Walker 2-3, da Silva 2-3, Barthelemy 1-4, Battey 0-1, Simpson 0-3), Oregon St. 3-19 (Davis 1-3, Calloo 1-4, Lucas 1-8, Alatishe 0-1, Taylor 0-1, Rand 0-2). Rebounds — Colorado 45 (Walker 15), Oregon St. 25 (Alatishe, Silva, Calloo 5). Assists — Colorado 20 (da Silva, Barthelemy, Clifford 4), Oregon St. 16 (Davis 6). Total fouls — Colorado 11, Oregon St. 17.
