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BOULDER, Colo. — After cutting a double-digit Colorado lead down to five with 2:30 left in the game, the Runnin' Utes were unable to score again in what went down as a 60-50 loss to the Buffaloes.
Sophomore guard Spencer Dinwiddie scored 13 points and senior guard Sabatino Chen added 12 to lead Colorado (18-8, 8-6). Junior forward Andre Roberson, the nation's leading rebounder, finished with 10 points, 13 rebounds, four steals and two blocks.
Utah led by as many as five points late in the first half before the Buffaloes took a 9-2 run into the locker room.
Colorado continued that momentum to start the second period, riding an 11-3 surge to jump out to a 41-31 lead.
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The Buffaloes reached their largest lead after sophomore guard Askia Booker's layup made it 47-36 with 12:22 to go in the ballgame.
A 10-4 Utah run brought the Utes within five, but they were never able to get any closer, dropping their second game in a row to kick off a three game road swing.
"We were not dealing with their defense on the pick-and-roll effectively," said Utah head coach Larry Krystkowiak. "We didn't get to 50-50 balls and at times, we seemed to just throw the ball in the air. At the end though, we missed open baskets. We had a chance to get it to two with an open 3-point look but just couldn't knock it down."
Freshman forward Jordan Loveridge led Utah (11-15, 3-11) with 12 points and seven boards, while senior center Jason Washburn and freshman guard Brandon Taylor each chipped in 10 points apiece. Dakarai Tucker, another freshman, came off the bench to spark the Utes with eight points and three steals.
"Dakarai has played strong for us two games in a row," Krystkowiak said. "For all the freshmen at this time it's about consistency and confidence. Dakarai was active again tonight and got his hands in CU’s passing lanes and caused some deflections. He has really been coming along nicely, as have the rest of the newcomers."
The Utes went through stretches in which they struggled to secure defensive rebounds — giving up 11 offensive boards in total. They also went through stretches with multiple turnovers, giving the ball away 15 times in all.
Krystkowiak came into the contest with hopes of slowing down Colorado's fast-paced offensive and quick, trapping defense in attempts by controlling the tempo and flow of the game in Utah's favor. The Utes appeared to be successful in this goal until the latter stages of the first half, when the Buffaloes' pressure got to them.
"We turned the ball over nine times in the first half and then they scored 21 points off our miscues for the game," said Krystkowiak. "Their pick-and-roll pressure, as well as their full court pressure, really sped us up offensively. We had worked on slowing things down this week but they forced us to burn some timeouts early. We have to be stronger with the ball — rip through the defender — but we were off balance a lot."
Utah now takes a week off before next heading to northern California to face Cal (17-9, 9-5) next Thursday and Stanford (16-11, 7-7) the following Sunday, in attempts to avenge losses inflicted by both teams at the Huntsman Center in January — including the Utes' season-worst 31-point loss to the Cardinal on Jan. 27.
Tyson Maddy has covered the University of Utah football and men's basketball teams as a contributing writer for KSL.com Sports since 2011. Follow his Utes coverage on twitter @Tyson_Maddy
