Colorado is strong down the stretch to take a 95-79 non-conference men's basketball win from UC Davis
Aggies led briefly in the second half before Buffaloes took control
BOULDER, Colorado - The Colorado Buffaloes pulled away midway through the second half to take a 95-79 win from UC Davis in a non-conference men’s basketball battle Friday night at the CU Events Center.
The win gives the Buffs a 5-0 mark, while the Aggies fall to 4-2.
Colorado hit the Aggies hard early, racing to a 10-0 lead in the first three minutes and appeared ready to blow UCD out of the contest in short order.
“There were instances early where we were not playing Aggie basketball,” said UC Davis head coach Jim Les.
“We were very cool at the start, but we did show some resolve to get back into the game.”
Get back the Aggies did, going on an 8-0 run of their own to pull within 10-8 on a 3-pointer from Isaiah Chappell.
Colorado went on another run to take a 27-16 advantage, but the Aggies cut the deficit to 43-39 at the half.
UCD came out strong after the break to take a 63-59 lead, but the Buffs scored the next 10 points to firmly take control and coasted to victory from there.
“We had a lot of breakdowns in the second half, especially on defense down the stretch that really hurt us,” Les added.
“We did not make them uncomfortable very often on the defensive end.”
The final stats prove Les’ point.
Colorado hit 59.6 of its field goal attempts and seemingly had an answer for every Aggie rally.
Marcus Wilson led UCD with 21 points, while Niko Rocak had 19 points on six of seven shooting from the floor and added six rebounds and two blocks.
Nils Cooper had 14 points as the only other Aggie in double figures.
Bangot Dak led five players into double figures for Colorado with 18 points, five rebounds and three assists.
The Aggies return home Monday for a 6 p.m. game against Louisiana, their final tuneup before opening their final season of Big West play Dec. 4 at Hawaii.