Tuesday’s loss to St. Bonaventure in the first round of the NIT will likely leave CU fans wondering if the Buffs may have overlooked the visiting Bonnies.

Regardless of the validity of that, the Bonnies came to Boulder ready to battle in a different time zone and at mile-high elevation.

St. Bonaventure shot 53% (29-of-55) from the floor and 50% (10-of-20) from deep on the night, shocking the Buffaloes en route to a 76-68 victory.

Colorado (43%, 25-of-48) had a good night of shooting, but was ineffective from long range (28%, 7-of-25) and proved incapable of putting together stops of the Bonnies.

“You’ve got to give St. Bonaventure credit,” Tad Boyle said after the loss. “They were the better team tonight, they were the tougher team tonight, they were the better executing team tonight — they were the team that didn’t want their season to end more than we did.”

For the Bonnies, round two of the NIT in Norman to face No.1 seed Oklahoma awaits sometime this weekend. For Colorado, the 2021-22 season is over.

Things got off to a less-than-ideal start for the Buffs, who found themselves in an early 10-2 hole, forcing Boyle to burn a timeout less than three minutes into things.

The Buffaloes battled back, however, sparked by an off-the-bench performance from Keeshawn Barthelemy, who quickly scored five points upon entering the game and led CU with nine at halftime.

A dunk by Jabari Walker with 7:02 to go in the first half gave Colorado its first lead of the game.

Walker, who finished the night with six points and eight rebounds on 2-of-10 shooting, undoubtedly suffered one of his most invisible performances of the season.

The first-team All-Pac-12 selection was double-teamed on the drive repeatedly and couldn’t get shots to fall from anywhere on the court.

“2-for-10 is not Jabari,” Boyle said. “He wasn’t his best tonight but listen — the kid’s been consistent all year long with 17 double-doubles…We had our chances. We just didn’t make shots when we had to make shots.”

The Buffs closed out the first half well enough, taking a three-point lead into the second half, and then started off the final 20 minutes in a very solid fashion, going on a 7-0 run.

At the 17:58 mark, CU led by 10, 46-36, following a three-pointer from Julian Hammond III.

But just when it looked like the Bonnies were all but on the ropes, they stormed back with a 7-0 run of their own.

With 14:45 to play, they were up by one.

From there, the Buffs would struggle to retake the lead, and more importantly, come up with stops in the defensive end.

“We always talk about separation and the only way we get separation is getting stops,” Barthelemy said. “We wouldn’t string stops together after getting that 10-point lead, so, it’s as simple as that.”

“It just felt like St. Bonaventure wanted to be here more than we did. It showed in the first three minutes of the game. Every time they made a shot, the whole bench, the whole team was hyped. We were just on our heels, it felt like.”

For as hot as the Bonnies were all night, Colorado got one late-game opportunity to snatch back some momentum.

Tristan da Silva, who scored 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting, converted an awkward-angled layup in traffic and drew the foul, making his ensuing foul shot.

That tied the game at 68-all with 2:16 to play, but immediately thereafter, St. Bonaventure big man Osun Osunniyi put in an easy basket all by himself under the rim, with the Bonnies’ Kyle Lofton hitting a jumper on their next possession to go up, 72-68, with 1:12 left.

Evan Battey then attempted to haul in a full-court pass with 1:04 to play, but it went off his fingers for a costly turnover.

All in all, St. Bonaventure ended the game on an 8-0 run, leaving Boulder with a 76-68 victory.

Colorado was forced to foul repeatedly in the last minute of play, sending Jaren Holmes and Osunniyi to the charity stripe, both of whom made each of their shots.

While it’s too early to tell, Boyle is hopeful that Tuesday night’s loss generates some energy for the Buffaloes heading into this offseason and eventually, the 2022-23 campaign.

“They beat us,” Boyle said. “That’s something we’re going to have to live with all offseason, a home loss in the NIT — it’s something we’re going to have to live with. I’m going to have to live with it, every senior’s going to have to live with it the rest of their lives (and) the returning guys gotta live with it.

“Now, if it doesn’t create a little bit of edge and a chip on your shoulder, we’ve got the wrong guys. It better create that.”