Colorado Basketball: Buffaloes get back on track, beat Portland
The Colorado Buffaloes got back in the win column on the basketball court, defeating Portland 76-63 on Saturday night.
The Buffs were likely still seething from their loss to in-state rival Colorado State earlier in the week and the university was still feeling the effects of the football team’s poor performance in the Pac-12 Championship Game on Friday night. The Pilots were on the receiving end of that frustration.
But it didn’t come easily. Portland, playing at home, got up by as many as eight points in the first half. Colorado was able to cut the lead to two by the break.
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Colorado looked like the fresher team in the second half. Just over two minutes into the second frame, Xavier Johnson sunk a three-pointer that put the Buffs up 35-33. They would never trail again. The Buffs would slowly build a lead that ballooned to 12 points when Johnson made a layup with just under six minutes to play.
Colorado finished with four players in double figures. Johnson led the way with 19 points while Josh Fortune added 14, Derrick White had 13 and George King posted 10. Colorado had 10 more rebounds than the Pilots, including 14 on the offensive end.
Jazz Johnson led the Pilots with 18 points on the night.
The Buffs improve to 6-2 on the season with the win and return home on Wednesday night to host the undefeated Xavier Musketeers before facing BYU and Air Force in back-to-back road games.
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