Askia Booker of Colorado attempts a layup between Soloman Hill (44) and Kaleb Tarczewski (35) of Arizona during a Pac-12 Tournament game at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Thursday, March 14, 2013. (Kai Casey/CU Independent)
The University of Colorado men’s basketball team lost to the No. 25 Baylor Bears 72-60 in Dallas, Texas on Friday night.
Despite a strong effort on both ends of the floor, the Buffs were unable to recover from a slow start offensively. They scored only 22 points in the first half and shot 33 percent from the field in the game.
They came out much stronger in the second half, cutting Baylor’s lead to six points (58-64) with two minutes left in the game. Clutch free-throw shooting from the Bears stifled the Buff’s rally.
Baylor’s offense was led by junior guard Kenny Chery and senior forward Cory Jefferson, who scored 14 and 13 points respectively.
Although the Buffs struggled shooting the ball, making only 10 percent of their shots behind the arc, the offense did show good ball control, committing only six turnovers the entire game.
The defense played a very solid first half and gave up only 30 points to the No. 25 Bears. They stumbled a little in the second, allowing 42 points, but kept the team within striking distance for the entire game.
Sophomore forward Josh Scott turned in a very solid performance for the Buffs, leading the team in both scoring and rebounding with 15 points and 11 boards.
Freshman forward Wesley Gordon also showed his potential, scoring nine points and grabbing eight rebounds in the loss.
The Buffs will take on UT Martin at 4:00pm on Sunday in the season’s home opener.
Contact CUIndependent Staff Writer Sam Showalter at samuel.showalter@colorado.edu.
