Colorado holds off Stanford, 80-76 in Pac-12 opener

Nov 29, 2021, 02:39 am

BOULDER, Colo. -- — Keeshawn Barthelemy converted six straight free throws in the final 63 seconds as Colorado held off Stanford, 80-76 to win its Pac-12 Conference opener on Sunday.

Tristan da Silva hit a 3 with 1:49 left to put the Buffaloes up 73-66, but the Cardinal rallied four layups, one a three-point play, and a dunk from Lukas Kisunas to trail by just two, 75-73 with 36 seconds left.

Barthelemy hit a pair of free throws with 1:03 left, two more with 36 seconds to go to give Colorado a four-point lead and two more with 12 left to set the final score.

Evan Battey hit all four of his 3-point attempts and led five players into double-digit scoring with 22 points for Colorado (6-1, 1-0). Da Silva had 13 points and Jabari Walker and KJ Simpson each added 12 points. Barthelemy went 8-for-8 from the line to finish with 10 points.

Spencer Jones hit 5 of 6 from the field, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range, and knocked down both of his free throws to lead Stanford (4-3, 0-1) with 15 points. Brandon Angel added 13 points and Kisunas scored all 11 of his points in the final minutes and pulled down nine rebounds. Stanford shot 26 of 52 from the field (50%), including 10 of 24 from long range, and hit 14 of 15 from the line.

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