Julian Hammond III had 23 points, Elijah Malone finished with 15 points and nine rebounds and Colorado beat South Dakota State 81-70 on Friday in Boulder, Colo.
RJ Smith contributed 11 points for the Buffaloes (8-2), who won their third game in a row.
Joe Sayler had 16 points and Kalen Garry scored 12 for the Jackrabbits (8-5), who have dropped their past two games. Oscar Cluff, South Dakota State’s leading scorer (17.3 points per game entering play), was held to nine points but did pull down a team-high nine rebounds.
Colorado scored the first four points of the second half to go up by nine, but South Dakota State came storming back. Owen Larson and Garry hit 3-pointers in an 11-2 run that tied the game at 46.
The Buffaloes went back up by five, but the Jackrabbits put together another run to go ahead 56-55 on a layup by Matthew Mors with 10:05 left. It was the visitors’ only lead of the game.
Colorado responded with 3-pointers by Malone and Hammond to retake the lead and started to pull away.
After Jackson’s jumper got the Jackrabbit within 61-58, Assane Diop hit two free throws, Andrej Jakimovski made a running layup and Trevor Baskin sank a pair of foul shots to increase the lead to nine with 5:45 left.
Sayler briefly stopped the momentum with a 3-pointer, but Hammond scored in the paint to make it 69-61 with 5:09 to go.
Sayler and Hammond both hit a pair of free throws to keep it an eight-point margin, and after Hammond sank a layup, Garry scored from deep to make it 73-66 with 2:11 remaining.
South Dakota State got within 75-70 before Hammond was fouled on a made 3-pointer and hit the free throw to complete the four-point play and seal the game with 49 seconds to go.
Colorado raced out to an early seven-point lead but the Jackrabbits closed the gap with their 3-point shooting. Mors hit a trey and Jackson drained back-to-back from deep to cut the deficit to 22-19.
The Buffaloes soon went up by eight, but South Dakota State got within 40-35 entering halftime.
–Field Level Media
The Minnesota Timberwolves want to make their home court a little less inviting. A year ago, the Timberwolves dominated at home, where they went 30-11 during the regular season. That…
The Toronto Raptors will be out to avenge a humiliating defeat when they host the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night. The Grizzlies set a franchise record for points when they…
With the NBA trade deadline looming, the Miami Heat will visit the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night in a game that will highlight several key players not in uniform. The…
Raptors hope to wipe out memory of last meeting with Grizzlies
Sixers and Heat, both short-handed, set to tangle in Philly
Wizards ride rare winning streak into matchup with Nets
Cavaliers aim to maintain dominance of Pistons
Field Level Media - Professional sports content solutions | FLM
