LOS ANGELES — The Colorado men’s basketball team knew a wide range of set plays were going to be thrown at them by the UCLA offense.
And for the most part, the Buffaloes’ defense held the Bruins in check. Until Lazar Stefanovic delivered the proverbial dagger shot in the waning minutes.
CU suffered its fourth loss in five games after dropping a 64-60 decision at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion on Thursday night. The Buffs bounced back from a turnover-filled first half to get in position to notch a comeback victory until a decisive late sequence.
UCLA led by 14 points early in the second half but CU twice tied the game late and trailed 58-56 after a pair of free throws from Eddie Lampkin Jr. with 3 minutes, 19 seconds remaining. But on the Bruins’ next possession Stefanovic, the former Utah wing, worked off a screen to knock down a wide-open 3-pointer to give the Bruins a 61-56 lead with 3 minutes remaining.
On the ensuing CU possession, senior Tristan da Silva, who was 3-for-5 on 3-pointers to that point, worked free for an open look that was off the mark. The Bruins’ Sebastian Mack converted a layup on UCLA’s next possession to push its lead to 63-56 and force the Buffs into scramble mode the rest of the way.
“Sometimes basketball comes down to a make-miss game,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said. “What I mean by that is, they ran a hell of a play for Stefanovic, which we’d gone over that play. It was in our scouting report but we didn’t guard it the way we needed to guard it and they got a wide-open three. And then we came down and we ran a 3-point play that they hadn’t seen, and we got a wide-open three and we didn’t make it.
“You have to capitalize on your offensive opportunities down the stretch offensively. We didn’t do that, and they did. Sometimes thatap the difference in the game. It has nothing to do with our effort, it has nothing to do with our competitiveness. And for that, I know we’ve got a chance here down the stretch to make some noise because we’ve got the players. We’re capable. We just got to play better down the stretch.”
Naismith watch
As KJ Simpson returned home, another impressive honor was added to his standout 2023-24 season.
On Thursday, prior to CU’s Pac-12 Conference date at UCLA, Simpson was named to the midseason team for the Naismith Trophy, which is awarded to college basketball’s player of the year. Two weeks ago, Simpson was one of 20 players named to the midseason watch list for the Wooden Award.
A Southern California native, Simpson is one of 30 players on the midseason team for the Naismith Trophy. He enters Thursday’s game at UCLA ranked fourth in the Pac-12 with 19.4 points per game while leading the league with an .896 free throw percentage. Simpson also ranks fourth in the league with 4.6 assists per game, and also is owns career-highs for field goal percentage (.494), rebounding (5.4), steals (44) and assist-to-turnover rate (2.13).
Simpson entered Thursday’s action as one of just five players in the nation averaging at least 19.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists.
Simpson and Arizona’s Caleb Love are the only Pac-12 players on the Naismith midseason team, which also includes Colorado State point guard Isaiah Stevens.
The honor might have been hollow solace for Simpson after one of his more frustrating games of the season, as he finished just 1-for-7 with a season-low four points against the Bruins, though he added team-best marks of seven rebounds and five assists.
Notable
On Friday, tickets go on sale for the 2024 Maui Invitational at . CU will play in the prestigious tournament Nov. 25-27 in a field set to include Auburn, Michigan State, North Carolina, Memphis, Iowa State, Dayton and 2023 national champion UConn. … J’Vonne Hadley’s streak of consecutive made free throws ended at 18. … Despite Cody Williams’ big night offensively — he went 8-for-9 with 18 points — he was charged with four turnovers without an assist, giving him nine turnovers without an assist in the past two games. … The Buffs’ 6-for-10 mark at the free throw line tied season-lows for attempts, made free throws, and free throw percentage (CU also was 6-for-10 last month at Arizona). … UCLA’s five turnovers tied the lowest for a Buffs foe this season. California also had just five in a CU loss in Berkeley on Jan. 10. … CU fell to 1-7 in true road games this season and 3-15 since the start of last season.
