McKinley Wright IV scored 16 points to lead five Colorado players in double figures, and the Buffaloes held off No. 14 Arizona 80-77 on Saturday to end the Wildcats' nine-game winning streak.
It's the second straight game in which the Buffaloes (10-6, 2-2 Pac-12) have knocked off a ranked team. They defeated No. 4 Arizona State 90-81 in overtime Thursday. The Buffaloes are now 17-29 against ranked teams under coach Tad Boyle.
Colorado went up by 20 in the first half only to see the Wildcats (12-3, 2-1) pull within three. Dominique Collier came up big down the stretch with one big shot after another. Dallas Walton finished with a career-high 15 points on 7 for 7 shooting as the Buffaloes overcame 13 turnovers in the second half.
Wright all but sealed the win with a steal and a dunk with 1:01 remaining. Colorado made six straight free throws over the final 40 seconds as fans made headed to the court for a second straight game after the final buzzer.
Deandre Ayton scored 21 of his 26 points in the second half for Arizona. Arizona's leading scorer, Allonzo Trier, was held to eight. The 1-2 scoring punch was averaging a combined 40.3 points before Saturday.
Arizona fell to 3-9 all-time in Boulder.
Things got a little heated late in the first half when Keanu Pinder and Collier got tangled up underneath the basket. They glared at each other as players from both teams stepped in. The officials went to the monitor and assessed a technical foul on Colorado's Tyler Bey and Arizon's Ira Lee.
BIG PICTURE
Arizona: The Wildcats never recovered from a sluggish start in a game they never led. They shot 30 percent in the first half.
Colorado: The Buffaloes shook things up in the Pac-12 with two big home wins.
THIS & THAT
Arizona C Dusan Ristic had 13 points and 11 rebounds. ... Colorado senior George King had five points and 11 rebounds.
WRIGHT'S BIG DAY
Wright finished with 10 assists and four rebounds.
"McKinley is unquestionably our engine. Our guys feed off him," Boyle said after the Arizona State game. "I've never had a freshman have the role emotionally that he has on this team. He commands their respect and they respect the heck out of him."
UP NEXT
Arizona: Host Oregon State on Thursday.
Colorado: At USC on Wednesday.
Posted at 2:27 PM, Jan 06, 2018
and last updated 2018-01-06 16:32:59-05
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