Colorado and Southern California had encouraging performances Thursday ahead of their matchup Saturday at Los Angeles, but the Buffaloes are coming off another loss while the Trojans experienced a much-needed win.
Colorado (16-7, 7-7 Pac-12) lost for the fourth time in five games with the 64-60 defeat at UCLA on Thursday.
The Buffaloes rallied from a 14-point deficit in the second half to tie the game late before falling short.
USC (10-15, 4-10) lost eight of its previous nine games before defeating Utah 68-64 at home Thursday.
Colorado tied the game with UCLA at 54 with less than five minutes remaining but could not take the lead.
“Our guys fought their tails off,” Colorado coach Tad Boyle said. “They battled, they competed. There’s nothing to hang our heads about after a game like this, and that’s all I can ask of our team.
“I don’t say this very often after losses, but I’m proud of the way this team competed, fought back and got back in the game. The one thing we have to do is take better care of the basketball.”
Colorado, 1-7 on the road, finished with 14 turnovers that led to 19 points for UCLA.
Cody Williams led the Buffaloes with 18 points on 8-for-9 shooting from the field.
Tristan da Silva added 16 points and Eddie Lampkin Jr. finished with 12.
KJ Simpson finished with a season-low four points — just his second game this season in single digits — but he led Colorado with seven rebounds and five assists.
In USC’s win over Utah, the Utes had a chance to tie the game with six seconds left but the Trojans’ Joshua Morgan blocked Deivon Smith’s layup attempt. USC’s DJ Rodman grabbed the loose ball and made a layup as time expired.
Morgan finished with four blocked shots.
Isaiah Collier scored a team-high 15 points with six assists, five rebounds and five steals.
“In basketball, there’s ups and downs, and you just got to keep going,” USC leading scorer Boogie Ellis (16.1 points per game) said of the recent struggles. “You’ll eventually get out of it.”
–Field Level Media