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CU Buffs' Tristan da Silva celebrates senior day by burying Stanford in second half

pat rooney, daily times-call, longmont, colo.
·5 min read

Mar. 3—Fast break

Why the Buffs won: Tristan da Silva hit five 3-pointers after halftime and the Buffs held Stanford to a .379 mark in the second half.

Three stars:

1. Tristan da Silva: Recorded his second double-double of the season and fourth of his career with 27 points and 11 rebounds.

2. KJ Simpson: CU's point guard hit five 3-pointers for the third time in four games before finishing with 22 points, seven assists and four rebounds.

3. J'Vonne Hadley: Once again Hadley did a little of everything, going 7-for-11 with 15 points, six rebounds and four assists.

Up next: CU faces a key showdown in the race for a top-four spot in the Pac-12 as well as an NCAA Tournament berth when the Buffs visit Oregon on Thursday (7 p.m., ESPN2).

The Colorado men's basketball team needed to finish the home slate with a flourish. Not just during the regular season home finale, but during the entire final three-game homestand.

Mission accomplished.

The Buffaloes capped the home slate in much the same manner as they have played at the CU Events Center the entire season, topping Stanford 81-71 in a Pac-12 Conference battle on Sunday night.

It was the fourth consecutive win for the Buffs, who improved to 16-1 at home this season. It also was CU's 10th consecutive home win against Stanford. CU has reached the 20-win mark for the 10th time in 14 seasons under head coach Tad Boyle, and it is the seventh time during that span the Buffs have reached 20 wins within the regular season.

It was a memorable senior night for CU's two departing seniors, Tristan da Silva and Luke O'Brien. The two players, who are the final holdovers from the Buffs' 2021 NCAA Tournament team, were honored before the game and addressed the crowd afterward.

"Another good win, especially on a night where we honored two young men who are to me what college basketball's all about, what college athletics is all about," Boyle said. "They've persevered. They haven't given up. They've gone through tough times, each in their own way. To see them honored tonight and given the love that they deserved from our fans and their teammates, it warms your heart as a coach."

Stanford suffered its sixth consecutive defeat and its eighth loss in the past nine games, but the Cardinal gave the Buffs fits early. Stanford began the game 10-for-16 from the floor, and defensively the Cardinal unveiled a frontcourt trap the Buffs had not seen on film. Stanford built a five-point lead midway through the first half, but CU came alive with a dominant 23-6 run, scoring the final 11 points in a row.

The Cardinal trimmed CU's 44-37 halftime lead down to three early in the second half, but CU took control the rest of the way, scoring the next seven points before gradually pushing the lead to 20 points with 6 minutes, 15 seconds remaining.

"We watched film and we didn't see that," CU guard KJ Simpson said. "That was just something we had to adjust to as the game went by. It was kind of an interesting defense. It was like a press almost, and then they would trap the first pass. We were able to break it a couple times, so we showed ourselves that we can beat that and take them out of that."

Da Silva enjoyed a monster game in his final regular season appearance at the Events Center, posting his second double-double of the season and the fourth of his career with 27 points and a season-high 11 rebounds. Da Silva also set a career high by making five 3-pointers, connecting on all of them after halftime following an 0-for-4 start.

Simpson put together another huge game, recording 22 points with seven assists, while J'Vonne Hadley added 15 points, six rebounds and four assists. Simpson went 5-for-9 from long range, giving him at least five 3-pointers in three of the past four games.

After shooting an even 50% in the first half (14-for-28), Stanford was held to a .379 mark after halftime. The Cardinal entered the game with the top 3-point mark in conference games (.398) but went just 7-for-28 from long range against the Buffs.

"It felt good. I've had a couple games where I've been struggling, so obviously it always feels good when you're making shots," da Silva said. "I felt like our defense kind of broke the game open. When we got out in transition, got to run, they didn't have their defense set so that's how we got good looks."

STANFORD (12-17, 7-12 Pac-12)

Angel 3-6 2-4 10, Raynaud 10-13 4-4 26, Stojakovic 1-7 2-5 4, Carlyle 4-17 2-2 12, Jones 4-7 4-5 13, Murrell 1-1 0-0 2, Keefe 1-2 0-0 2, Gealer 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 26-57 14-20 71.

COLORADO (20-9, 11-7)

da Silva 11-18 0-0 27, Lampkin 5-7 1-2 11, O'Brien 1-3 1-2 3, Hadley 7-11 0-1 15, Simpson 8-17 1-2 22, Ruffin 0-3 0-0 0, Diop 0-1 0-0 0, Dak 1-2 1-2 3. Totals 33-62 4-9 81.

Halftime — Colorado 44-37. 3-point field goals — Stanford 7-28 (Angel 2-3, Raynaud 2-2, Stojakovic 0-5, Carlyle 2-11, Jones 1-4, Gealer 0-3); Colorado 11-25 (da Silva 5-10, O'Brien 0-2, Hadley 1-3, Simpson 5-9, Ruffin 0-1). Rebounds — Stanford 27 (Raynaud 12); Colorado 38 (da Silva 11). Assists — Stanford 13 (Carlyle 3); Colorado 17 (Simpson 7). Turnovers — Stanford 8 (Gealer 3); Colorado 12 (Lampkin 5). Total fouls — Stanford 13, Colorado 16. Fouled out — Lampkin. Technicals — Lampkin. A — 7,518.