Da Silva's '3' Helps Buffaloes Escape Duquesne In Overtime

ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands - Sophomore Tristan da Silva hit a game-tying 3-point shot with two seconds left in regulation and Colorado outscored Duquesne by eight in the extra session to take an 84-76 decision over the Dukes in a consolation bracket game at the Paradise Jam Saturday night at the U.S. Virgin Islands Sports and Fitness Center.

Colorado, which never led in regulation, scored the first five points of overtime to pull away from the Dukes. The Buffaloes, 4-1 overall, will battle Brown in the fourth place game Monday, Nov. 22, at 1:15 p.m. MT.

Evan Battey led Colorado in scoring with 18 points along with five rebounds and three steals. Jabari Walker had his second double-double of the season with 13 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. K.J. Simpson scored 11 points off the bench and dished out a team-best four assists.

Duquesne's Kevin Easley led all scorers with 19 points and pulled down 12 rebounds. The Dukes (1-4) will face Bradley in the seventh place game on Monday.
Similar to the season-opening overtime win over Montana State, Colorado had to overcome a double-digit second half deficit and rely on a clutch shot as time was running out to extend the contest.

"This is a team, and I feel it now five games in, that we're going to have a lot of games like this," Colorado head coach Tad Boyle said. "I just don't know if we have the consistency to put teams away. Maine we did, but Montana State we didn't, New Mexico we didn't, Southern Illinois we didn't and we didn't tonight – and we were fortunate to get to overtime in two of those games."

The Buffaloes trailed by 60-49, with 7:45 remaining in the game before an 11-0 CU run over the next 2:40 evened the game.

Colorado struggled to get stops throughout the game, and that continued down the stretch. After the Buffaloes tied it at 60, Duquesne guard Toby Okani scored the next four points to put the Dukes back up 64-60 with 3:04 left.

The Buffaloes responded with a Simpson three-point play but was countered by a Trae Williams basket.

Keeshawn Barthelemy drove for a layup to pull the Buffaloes to 66-65 with 2:00 left and did get a stop on a turnover, but returned the favor with one of their own.
Another Duquesne turnover led to a fast break by the Buffaloes, but Battey was turned away at the rim by Williams. Colorado seemed to get another stop on a missed Leon Ayers III 3-point attempt, but da Silva was called for a foul away from the play on the rebound. Williams cashed in with an acrobatic jumper in the lane to give the Dukes a 68-65 lead with 35 seconds left.

Colorado took a timeout with 17 seconds left to draw up a play with options for a quick two or a 3-pointer. That play never materialized and Simpson found him self scrambling on the left wing. With time running out, he drove down the left side and found da Silva on the opposite side of the baseline for the equalizer.

"Our execution out of that timeout was awful," Boyle said. "The play we had drawn up didn't even resemble (what happened). But players make plays and K.J. made a heck of a drive and got Tristan in the corner and he made a big time shot. So we'll take it."

Barthelemy opened overtime with a 3-pointer and Battey scored on a layup for a 73-68 lead. An Easley 3-pointer cut the lead back to two, but Battey countered with another layup and a Walker 3-pointer gave the Buffaloes a 78-71 lead with under two minutes left. Colorado made five free throws down the stretch, including four from Walker, to put the game away.

As the case for several of CU's early season games, it was a sloppy start. The Buffs had three early turnovers and didn't score for the first three minutes as Duquesne built an early 15-7 lead.
 
Once the Buffaloes got some footing, Battey and Nique Clifford scored on consecutive paint touches to cut the lead to 15-11.

Simpson attacked the rim on two straight trips down the floor, scoring five points as the Dukes led by just one at 17-16.

Duquesne built its lead back up to eight with the help of consecutive 3-pointers by Ayres and Jackie Johnson III. It was about to be a 10-point lead as Easley had a steal with a breakaway dunk in his future, but Simpson tracked him down and blocked him from behind. The Buffaloes completed a four-point swing as Luke O'Brien scored on a put back and the Buffaloes trailed 35-29 at the half.