Senior guard J’Vonne Hadley reacts to the Buffaloes lead at the end of the game against Washington State University on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023. (Clementine Miller/CU Independent)
The University of Colorado Boulder men’s basketball team returned to the CU Event Center following a brief hiatus over the holidays with home wins over the University of Washington and Washington State University two days apart. Despite missing two of their three leading scorers, senior leader Tristan da Silva and freshman sensation Cody Williams, both out due to injury, the Buffs pulled out two gritty victories off the back of point guard KJ Simpson.
With da Silva out with an ankle injury and Williams sidelined with a wrist injury, Colorado was short-handed for its bouts with the Huskies and Cougars. The loss of both players cannot be understated as, along with being leading scorers for the Buffs, da Silva and Williams have been among the team leaders in minutes and both are capable defenders.
In their absence, junior guard Julian Hammond III and senior forward Luke O’Brien entered the starting lineup. Forward Harrison Carrington and guard Javon Ruffin were set to earn their first real minutes of the season as the sixth and seventh players off the bench. Heading into back-to-back games against above .500 opponents, Colorado head coach Tad Boyle needed to turn to unlikely candidates for meaningful playing time.
The Colorado Buffaloes men’s basketball team celebrates during the game against Washington State University on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023. (Clementine Miller/CU Independent)
Dec. 29: Colorado vs Washington
Entering the game in Boulder, the Washington Huskies sat at 8-3 with a win over No. 7 Gonzaga on their resume. Headed by fifth-year senior guard Keion Brooks Jr., who leads his team with 20.5 points per game off 40.5% from three on the season, the Huskies were rolling off a four-game win streak before meeting the Buffaloes.
The game started tight, with both teams relatively even for the first seven minutes of play, but a pair of tough Simpson baskets in the paint propelled Colorado to a 20-15 lead with 10 minutes remaining in the first half. Already, Colorado bench players were making the most of their increased playing time with Carrington making a highlight reel steal and behind-the-back pass to set up a sweet Simpson transition layup.
Simpson had praise for Carrington after the game.
“We love Harry. This whole team trusts him on the floor, he’s someone that does everything right,” he said.
The Buffs carried the momentum for the rest of the first half, taking a 32-26 lead into the break. Simpson had already made 11 points and three assists on the day, while Brooks had been held to only five points for the Huskies.
However, Brooks did not stay quiet for long. As the scoring ramped up in the second half, the Buffs found big minutes in Eddie Lampkin Jr. who achieved a double-double in points and rebounds before the 20-minute mark, and sharpshooter Hammond III who hit his second and third three-pointers of the game. Opposingly, the Huskies started getting hot from beyond the arc as Brooks nailed three straight three-pointers in under five minutes. Brooks’ last shot tied the game at 54 with eight minutes remaining.
As the game clock wound down, Washington established a seven point lead just after the six minute mark, capitalized by an impressive alley-oop finish from Brooks assisted by guard Sahvir Wheeler. But the Buffs responded only a minute later with a game-stopping one-handed dunk by forward Hadley.
“The crowd was great, and obviously our students weren’t here tonight, but our community showed up,” said coach BoyIe when addressing the excitement of the Hadley dunk.
“I told him [Hadley] after the game I knew we were gonna win after he did that,” Simpson said about the dunk.
Hadley continued to be big for Colorado down the stretch as he and Simpson closed out the Huskies with back-to-back finishes in transition to put the Buffs in front to end the game. Simpson ended the game with 21 points and 10 rebounds.
Dec. 31: Colorado vs Washington State
The Washington State Cougars arrived in Boulder two days later with a similar game-day record to their in-state rivals, sitting at 9-3. Unlike the Huskies, however, the Cougars had lost two of their last three games and were coming off a 22-point defeat to the University of Utah just two days before. Without a clear-cut star, Washington State’s three leading scorers, freshman guard Myles Rice, senior forward Isaac Jones and senior forward Andrej Jakimovski, head the team.
Junior guard KJ Simpson attempts a three-point shot during the game against Washington State University on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023. (Clementine Miller/CU Independent)
From the first whistle, Simpson was attacking the rim at will. In the first 11 minutes, Simpson’s nine points, all coming from inside or free throws, boosted Colorado to a 23-12 lead. Considering the de Silva and Williams injuries, the Buffs offense seemed to have adapted well to playing off a more ball-dominant and aggressive Simpson.
Addressing the increased role, Simpson said, “I love basketball. I never wanted to come out, that’s how I’ve been since growing up… this is something that you have to do when guys go down.”
In the final stretch of the first half, the Cougars rallied behind three straight Jakimovski three-pointers in under two minutes to bring the score to 29-25. However, a Simpson transition layup and a pair of nice drives from Hammond helped bring the lead back up to 39-29 to end the half.
After putting up 14 first-half points, Simpson continued his big night by adding 11 more points in the first 12 minutes of the second half, including his lone three-pointer of the night. But without any consistent offense outside of Simpson, the Buffs allowed the Cougars to stay in the game. After Jones’ tenth point of the second half, a layup, the score was brought to a slim Colorado lead at 58-56 with eight minutes and 24 seconds remaining.
Senior guard Luke O’Brien goes up for a layup during the game against Washington State University on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023. (Clementine Miller/CU Independent)
It was Simpson, as it had been all night, that closed out the game for the Buffs. Following a pair of Rice free throws that cut the Buffs’ lead to only one point, Simpson drove one-on-one against the Cougars’ Jones and nailed a soaring hook shot off the backboard. The score was 67-64 with two minutes remaining.
The Buffs’ defense showed up big time in the end, managing to hold Washington State to a lone buzzer-beater three-pointer while Colorado scored at will on the other end. Simpson finished with a career-high 34 points as Colorado beat Washington State 74-67.
“Tonight we needed [KJ] to score and he went out and got 34. The kid’s special, he has solidified himself as one of the great point guards in Colorado basketball history,” coach Boyle said after the game.
Since the Washington and Washington State victories, the Colorado men’s team has lost two straight games during their Arizona trip and will play at the University of California Wednesday, Jan. 10.
Contact CU Independent staff writer Charlie Hewitt at Charlie.Hewitt@colorado.edu.
Senior guard J’Vonne Hadley goes up for a shot during the game against Washington State University on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023. (Clementine Miller/CU Independent)
