Jabari Walker scored all 14 of his points in the second half to help push Colorado past visiting Milwaukee 65-54 on Friday evening in Boulder, Colo.
Walker was 0 of 6 at halftime before stepping up after intermission for the Buffaloes (8-3), who also received 15 points from Evan Battey and 11 points from Elijah Parquet.
Colorado overcame 3-of-15 shooting from 3-point range with a crisp 14-of-17 performance from the foul line. Walker and Parquet combined to shoot 9 of 10 from the charity stripe.
Jordan Lathon recorded 14 points and Patrick Baldwin Jr. scored 12 for Milwaukee (2-7), which shot just 29.2 percent from 3-point range and 36.4 percent overall. The Panthers were outrebounded 39-30, and their 14 turnovers didn’t help matters.
Colorado got off to a slow start, going scoreless until nearly six minutes had elapsed. Milwaukee didn’t do much offensively in the early going either, and the low-scoring affair allowed the Buffaloes to jump in front midway through the opening session.
Colorado led by as many as seven in the first half, although Lathon’s late 3-pointer drew the Panthers within 28-24 at the break.
The teams were close early in the second half before Milwaukee finally went ahead 48-46 on Baldwin’s 3 with about nine minutes left. Colorado did not make a field goal from the 13:22 mark of the second half until 5:37 remained in the contest.
Baldwin put the Panthers ahead 52-51 with an offensive rebound and putback with 5:20 to play, but the Buffaloes scored the next 12 points to take control. Battey began the decisive push with a pair of free throws and Walker scored the next eight points on a layup, a three-point play and a 3-pointer with 1:41 remaining.
By the time Parquet knocked down a pair of free throws with 51 seconds left, Colorado was ahead by double figures en route to its fifth win in seven games.
–Field Level Media