The Buffs had themselves quite the night just on the other side of the Rocky Mountains, as they showed out against a struggling Utah team to bounce back after a tough loss in Houston, winning by a final score of 92-78.

Despite a great start from Bangot Dak, who went 3-3 from the floor to open the game, the Buffs were unable to establish a real advantage early in Salt Lake City. Utah’s defense made life difficult for Colorado’s young lineup early on in the contest, as the two teams went shot-for-shot through the first eight minutes, finding themselves all knotted with at 13-13.

Immediately afterwards, an Isaiah Johnson coast-to-coast bucket was able to energize the Buffs and they took off with that momentum. From there on out, essentially everything went right for CU until the end of the half.

Colorado began hitting nearly all their shots and dominating on defense, forcing nine first-half turnovers and turning that into 13 points. The Buffs’ elite transition offense helped break the game wide open, but Johnson’s shooting is what put the nail in Utah’s coffin very early in the game.

Johnson went ballistic at the Huntsman Center, hitting three freebies and four of his five attempts from the floor, including one from deep, totaling 12 first-half points. Dak kept right up with him, also hitting four of his five shots from the floor for 12 points before halftime.

While Colorado’s young players found their footing, Utah completely and utterly broke under pressure. They were unable to make shots, looked atrocious off the boards and were insistent on handing the Buffs free points. Even on the rare occasion that Colorado sent the Utes to the line, they were unable to capitalize, shooting an astounding 0-8 on FTs in the first half.

With Colorado’s scoring onslaught and Utah’s collapse, the Buffs built a nice lead and continued to add to it. A five-point lead quickly became 10 points, and then 15 points even quicker. Before they knew it, Colorado headed into the break leading 51-25, doubling up the Utes on the road through the first 20 minutes.

It’s not easy to blow a 26-point lead at halftime, but the Buffs gave it their best shot. A banked Utah three-pointer got the period started and the Utes continued to roll, shooting 12-14 from the floor to start the period. After going 0-9 from deep in the first half, the Utes began the second by shooting 6-6 on 3FGs. Utah’s Terrance Brown led most of that offensive onslaught, scoring 13 points in the first 10 minutes of the second half.

Just when the Utes began getting hot, Colorado’s shooting started to cool, as the Utes ripped off a 16-4 run to cut CU’s lead to only 10 points.

With around five minutes remaining, Utah’s steam began to slow. Their pace took a noticeable dip and the foul bug hit them hard, sending Colorado to the line often down the stretch.

Meanwhile, CU’s shotmakers stepped up. A clutch three-pointer by Johnson and some pivotal makes from the line from Dak bumped Colorado’s lead back to 15, as the Buffs cruised across the finish line.

Johnson once again finished with plenty in the scoring column, tallying 22 points off six makes from the floor and going a perfect 8-8 from the line. Even with Johnson’s clutch shooting, Dak stole the show, finishing with 22 points of his own, along with 10 rebounds.

After tonight, the Buffs move to a record of 17-13, with a 7-10 record in Big 12 play. Their final game of the regular season will be a test with #2 Arizona in Boulder. Tip-off will be at 9:00 p.m. on Saturday, so be sure to show up and support your team!