UCLA
19-10, 10-7
Colorado
16-13, 8-9
UCLA Falls at Colorado, 80-76
February 25, 2018 | Men's Basketball
BOULDER, Colo. โ Aaron Holiday scored 21 points and Kris Wilkes added 20 as the UCLA men's basketball team dropped an 80-76 decision at Colorado in a Pac-12 game on Sunday afternoon.
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UCLA (19-10, 10-7 Pac-12) rallied from a 50-40 deficit midway through the second half, tying the game at 52-52 before taking a 56-54 lead with 8:46 remaining.
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From that point, Colorado (16-13, 8-9 Pac-12) used a 17-1 scoring run over the next four minutes to surge ahead, 71-57, with 4:47 to play.
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The Bruins trailed by as many as 10 points in the final three minutes before reducing Colorado's advantage to 76-71 with 48 seconds to play. UCLA got as close as 77-73 with 39 seconds to go, but couldn't reduce the deficit to any fewer than four points.
"In the second half, we settled down and really defended well," said Steve Alford, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men's Head Basketball Coach. "We did a lot of good things in the second half. But when you're down, 12, 13, 14 points or whatever it was, and you battle all the way back, that takes a lot out of you. I thought that's what happened. We subbed to get a little bit of rest. And they went on a 14-1 run, and then we battled back again. We still fought to the end and gave it a good shot."
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Five players for Colorado scored in double figures before a crowd of 8,176, at the Coors Events Center, as Dominique Collier led the way for the Buffaloes with 19 points. George King added 16 points and Lucas Siewert registered 15 for Colorado.
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Both teams shot nearly identical percentages โ both overall and from three-point range. UCLA and Colorado each made 14 three-point field goal attempts, with the Bruins attempting 31 long-range shots and Colorado putting up 30.
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UCLA and Colorado each shot just above 41 percent, overall, from the field. The Bruins won the rebounding battle, 41-38, but the Buffaloes shot twice as nearly free throws. UCLA finished 8-for-12 from the free throw line, while Colorado made 18 of its 25 free throw attempts.
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The Bruins trailed through the majority of the first half and entered the locker room at halftime trailing Colorado, 45-36. The Buffaloes made 10 of 20 attempts from three-point range in the first half.
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UCLA raced to an early 11-5 lead in the game's first four minutes.
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Colorado followed with a 20-8 scoring run over the next nine minutes, allowing the Buffaloes to build a 25-19 advantage with 7:49 to play.
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The Bruins will close their regular-season schedule at USC on Saturday, March 3. Game time at USC's Galen Center is 7:15 p.m. (PT).
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