Buffs Succumb To ASU Rally, Drop Pac-12 Opener At Home

BOULDER — Colorado let a 15-point halftime lead melt away in the second half Thursday and the Buffaloes dropped a 60-59 decision to Arizona State at the CU Events Center.

Tad Boyle's Buffs fell to 4-4 overall and 0-1 in Pac-12 play and have yet to win or lose two games in a row this season.

The Sun Devils improved to 7-1, 1-0.

Colorado led 38-23 at the half and still had a double-digit cushion with under eight minutes to play. But the Buffs went cold on the offensive end and committed some critical turnovers to allow ASU to forge its comeback.

CU still had a two-point lead with under a minute to play. But the Buffs committed a turnover on one possession, then missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw with 12 seconds remaining.

That was enough time for Desmond Cambridge to hit the game-winning 3-pointer for ASU with 2.9 seconds on the clock.

The Buffs finished the game with 20 turnovers — 12 in the second half. ASU was more than happy to convert those errors into 22 points, just enough to make up for the Sun Devils' 5-for-26 night from 3-point range.

The Buffs dominated the boards, 37-24, and held ASU to 24-for-61 shooting. But CU shot just 38 percent for the game, including a dismal 29 percent in the second half. Colorado had just six field goals after intermission.

KJ Simpson led Colorado with 13 points on 5-for-16 shooting and Tristan da Silva added 10 points and a career-high eight rebounds.

ASU, which was missing two key players because of illness and a suspension, was led by Devan Cambridge's 18 points.

The Buffs also hurt themselves at the free throw line, shooting 9-for-17 from the charity stripe. CU missed the front end of two one-and-one situations in the final three minutes, including one with 12 seconds remaining. Two made free throws would have given Colorado a four-point lead.

Instead, the front-end miss opened the door for ASU's game winner.

"This one stings," Boyle said. "This is easily one of the top five losses in the 13 years I've been at Colorado. We let our fans down. I let them down. The players let them down … We wilted to their pressure. As a coach that's really hard to deal with. I have to do a better job."

HOW IT HAPPENED: The Buffs led by 15 at the half, 38-23. But they couldn't put the Sun Devils away, as ASU narrowed the deficit to 47-37 with 11:43 still to play.

ASU continued its comeback after a timeout, finally cutting Colorado's lead to six, 48-42. The Buffs committed six turnovers in a 5:31 span to help the Sun Devils forge their comeback. After the sixth of those miscues led to an ASU breakaway dunk, Boyle called time out.

"We couldn't handle their pressure," Boyle said. "We couldn't make an entry pass, we couldn't make a backdoor cut and we couldn't drive the ball. You have to be able to handle the pressure and we're not able to handle the pressure. And that's the bottom line."

Still, the timeout briefly stopped the bleeding. CU ended a six-minute scoring drought with a da Silva layup, then added an Ethan Wright 3-pointer — and it was ASU's turn to call timeout with Colorado holding a  53-42 edge.

CU then briefly built its margin to 12 before the Sun Devils put together a 13-0 run. Alonzo Gaffney hit a 3-pointer, DJ Horne scored inside, Desmond Cambridge hit a 3-pointer and his brother Devan drained another. With 2:34 remaining, the Sun Devils held a 57-56 lead.

But following another timeout, the Buff finally ended a four-minute scoring drought when Jalen Gabbidon hit three free throws to help Colorado regain the lead, 59-57.

Colorado did come up with two defensive stops in the final minute but the Buffs also had a key turnover with 29 seconds remaining.

Still, CU had one more chance to put the game away when a da Silva blocked shot and rebound forced ASU to foul Simpson. But Simpson missed the front end of a one-and-one with 12 seconds to play.

Devan Cambridge then drained his game winner with 2.9 ticks left on the clock.

CU had one more chance with the ball, but a Simpson 3-pointer at the buzzer missed its mark and the Sun Devils walked off with the win.

"We played well enough to win tonight," Boyle said. "We got stops down the stretch … But we didn't make free throws and we didn't get that last stop. It's the same team, it's the same inconsistencies, it's the same problems. I have to figure out a way to do a better job."

Colorado started slowly, committing four turnovers in the first three minutes that led to an 8-6 ASU lead.

But the Buffs soon found their rhythm on the offensive end and turned up the defensive pressure. Colorado used an 8-0 run to take a 14-8 lead, then built the cushion to 24-13. KJ Simpson, Luke O'Brien and Julian Hammond III all had 3-pointers in the surge.

The Sun Devils, meanwhile, chose to fire away from long distance — and came up empty. ASU missed all 13 of its 3-point tries in the first half while the Buffaloes hit six of their 13 tries.

Colorado continued to build its lead down the final minutes of the first half. A J'Vonne Hadley bucket at the 3:19 mark pushed CU's margin to 29-17 before Javon Ruffin bumped the lead to 13 with a 3-pointer a minute later.

CU finally built its biggest lead of the half with 27 seconds remaining when Simpson drove the baseline for a basket to send the Buffs into intermission with a 38-23 lead.

TURNING POINT: The Sun Devils grabbed momentum with a 13-0 run down the stretch. Colorado regained the lead and still had a chance to win in the final seconds, but missed free throws and turnovers doomed their chances.

WHAT IT MEANS: The Buffs missed a chance to win two in a row for the first time this season, as well as missing a chance to win their conference opener. 

KEY STATISTICS: CU committed 20 turnovers that led to 22 ASU points … The Buffs shot just 9-for-17 from the free throw line for the game and 6-for-21 from the floor in the second half.

UP NEXT: The Buff play their second conference game of the year Sunday when they play at Washington in a 1 p.m. game (Pac-12 Networks). After that, CU wraps up the non-conference portion of its schedule with four more games, beginning with a Dec. 8 home game against Colorado State (7 p.m., ESPN2).

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu