All Wright: Senior leads CU to 79-72 win over No. 17 Oregon
By PAT GRAHAMJanuary 8, 2021 GMT
All the crash did was ignite him.
Wright recovered from the scary fall to score 21 points, including a game-sealing scoop layup with 27 seconds left, and Colorado held off No. 17 Oregon for a 79-72 win on Thursday.
“Big-time win for us,” Wright said.
The senior point guard was fouled driving to the basket late in the first half, slid out of bounds and banged his neck on a seat along the baseline. He pounded the floor in pain before joining the team on the bench and returning to the floor to shoot free throws. Struggling before the fall, Wright caught fire after it scoring all of his points.
Wright’s Colorado Buffaloes get home upset of No. 17 Oregon
Durango, Colorado Currently Mon 0% chance of precipitation By Pat Graham AP Sports Writer
Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021 5:45 PM Updated: Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021 10:23 PM Colorado guard McKinley Wright IV, left, drives to the basket as Oregon forward Eric Williams Jr. defends in the first half Thursday in Boulder. David Zalubowski/Associated Press Colorado guard Eli Parquet, left, tries to block a shot by Oregon guard Chris Duarte, right, in the second half Thursday in Boulder. David Zalubowski/Associated Press Colorado forward Jeriah Horne (41) drives to the rim for a basket past Oregon forward Eugene Omoruyi in the second half Thursday in Boulder.
UCLA holds off Colorado 65-62 for 13th straight home win
By BETH HARRISJanuary 3, 2021 GMT
LOS ANGELES (AP) UCLA took a huge loss before its game against Colorado began. The Bruins found out second-leading scorer and rebounder Chris Smith has a torn ACL and his career in Westwood is likely over.
Still, they came together and rallied for a 65-62 victory over the Buffaloes on Saturday night, extending their home winning streak to 13 games.
“We were all heartbroken,” said Jaime Jaquez Jr., who scored a game-high 14 points. “It’s his senior year and we’re expecting great things. We’re going to try to play this season for him.”
Buffs trample Bears in home opener
December 14, 2020
Junior forward Evan Battey puts up a layup during the first quarter of the Buffs win vs Northern Colorado at the CU Events Center. Dec. 14, 2020 (Jivan West/CU Independent)
The Colorado Buffaloes hosted Northern Colorado in their home opener Monday night at the CU Events Center. After falling in Knoxville to No. 12 Tennessee last Tuesday, Colorado looked to get back on track against the Bears. Head coach Tad Boyle and the Buffs defeated Northern Colorado, 81-45.
“I thought we were really efficient tonight,” Boyle said following the win. “Offensively, we shot over 50 percent, we haven’t done that I don’t think all year. Defensively, I thought we did a good job with our ball screen coverages because Northern Colorado is a good ball screen team, they’re a good driving team, they’re a good three-point shooting team. I thought we did a really good job defensively against them.”