Da Silva scores 17 points to lead No. 18 Colorado past pesky Iona 85-68

BOULDER, Colo. -- — The pressure of reaching 1,000 career points never weighed on Tristan da Silva. That's because the Colorado forward didn't even realize he was nearing the mark.

Da Silva scored 17 points to go over the 1,000-point m ilestone and No. 18 Colorado shook free in the second half from the relentless full-court defense of Iona for an 85-68 win on Sunday.

The sharpshooting Da Silva was caught by surprise when informed of his achievement at the postgame news conference. KJ Simpson reached over and gave his teammate a congratulatory fist bump. Da Silva scored 14 of his points in the first half to become the 39th member of the program's 1,000-point club.

“It just goes to show how hard he’s been working,” said Simpson, who had 15 points and five of Colorado's 17 assists. “He deserves it."

Colorado (5-1) was a 19 1/2-point favorite, but struggled early on with the full-court pressure of pesky Iona (2-4). After halftime, the Buffaloes changed tactics and focused on going inside to capitalize on their size advantage. They scored 26 points in the paint in the second half, including a highlight-reel dunk from Cody Williams and a one-handed slam from Eddie Lampkin Jr. that energize the crowd.

The Buffaloes used an 11-0 run midway through the final half to pull away.

“Workman-like effort tonight against an Iona team that has a bunch of tough kids,” Colorado coach Tad Boyle said. “Obviously, I think our depth wore them down a little bit.”

The Buffaloes had five players score in double figures and 10 play at least five minutes.

More than anything, it was a performance that helped the Buffaloes turn the page on all the turnovers that led to an overtime loss to Florida State last week during their final game of the Sunshine Slam in Florida.

“I feel like we were just in our own head,” Simpson said of the Florida State loss in which Colorado had 20 turnovers. "I mean, we can handle pressure. ... (Iona) was a good bounce back. We needed this.”

Greg Gordon led Iona with 19 points while Idan Tretout finished with 18. Iona was without Joel Brown due to a shoulder ailment. Freshman Jeremiah Quigley stepped in and had 11 points. Wheza Panzo, the Gaels' second-leading scorer, was held to three points.

“They have NBA size. They have some great athletes on that team,” Tretout said. “Think today we competed for half a game.”

Down by seven early in the game, Iona dialed up the intensity and made things difficult for Colorado. The Gaels even grabbed the lead for a total of 71 seconds in the first half.

“Not consistent enough to win that game,” first-year Iona coach Tobin Anderson said.

BIG PICTURE

Iona: The Gaels' last win over a ranked team was Nov. 25, 2021, when they beat No. 10 Alabama 72-68 with Rick Pitino at the helm.

Colorado: The Buffaloes shot 60.8% from the floor, their best shooting percentage since Dec. 13, 2014, against Northern Colorado.

HISTORY WITH IONA

This marked the second time Colorado has played Iona in men’s hoops. On Dec. 29, 2019, the Buffaloes beat the Gaels 99-54 behind a program record-tying performance from 3-point range. The Buffaloes matched a school mark with 17 3-pointers.

UP NEXT

Iona: Host Marist on Wednesday.

Colorado: At rival Colorado State (6-0) on Wednesday. “They’re laying in the weeds for us, I know that,” Boyle said.

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