SEATTLE — Colorado couldn't solve Washington's zone defense Saturday night, dropping a 64-55 decision to the Huskies in front of a sellout crowd of 10,000 at Alaska Airlines Arena.
The Buffs fell to 16-11 overall and 7-8 in Pac-12 play with their second straight loss while the Huskies improved to 22-5, 13-1. The Buffs now have their final three regular season games at home, beginning with next Saturday's 4 p.m. game against Utah.
Colorado's Tyler Bey finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds on 9-for-17 shooting to record his 13th career double-double and 11th of the season. D'Shawn Schwartz finished with 10 points and five rebounds, but was the only other Buff in double figures.
Washington's Matisse Thybulle finished with 17 points, six steals, five blocked shots and three rebounds.
Colorado did not shoot well from the floor — 22-for-53 — but the Buffs' biggest downfall was turnovers. CU committed 19 miscues, which the Huskies converted into 18 points. And, while the Buffs did win the overall rebound battle, 39-28, Washington collected 13 offensive rebounds and turned them into 12 points.
Washington led by eight at the half and built its second-half lead to as much as 18 before the Buffs cut the deficit in half with a 9-0 run with seven minutes still to play. But the Huskies then built the lead back to 13 and managed to hold the Buffs off down the stretch.
"They got up 18 and then we started deciding to play and we guarded, and we guarded them down the stretch," CU head coach Tad Boyle said. "But you have to do that for 40 minutes. There's two reasons we lost this game tonight. No. 1 we gave them 13 offensive rebounds, which we knew we couldn't do. We have to be tougher on the boards. The second thing is you can't come into this building, especially when it's loud and sold out like it was tonight, and turn the ball over 19 times. The combination of the offensive rebounds and the turnovers put us in the hole."
HOW IT HAPPENED: Colorado stayed in the game early and trailed by just two, 25-23, with 4:31 to go in the first half after Shane Gatling hit a long 3-pointer. But the Huskies closed the half with a 10-4 run to take a 35-27 lead at intermission, then assumed full control in the first five minutes of the second half with a 16-6 run. The Buffs committed three turnovers in the span, and the Huskies converted those into seven points.
"We played on our heels," Boyle said. "You cannot play Washington on your heels, especially in this building. If you play them on your heels, they're going to get things going."
Thybulle was a thorn in the Buffs' side all night, particularly in the second half. The reigning Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year had 14 points, four blocks, three steals and three rebounds after intermission.
"He makes big-time plays defensively," Boyle said. "He dominates the game as a defensive player. There's not too many guys like him in college basketball."
After falling behind by 18, the Buffs did make a run, cutting the margin in half with a 9-0 run. Bey had six points in the surge and Schwartz added a 3-pointer. A Bey basket inside capped the run and pulled Colorado to within nine, 59-50, with 7:09 still to play.
But Thybulle halted the run with a drive to the basket with 6:35 remaining — and while the Huskies did not score another field goal the rest of the game, they still held the Buffs at bay. Colorado had four turnovers in its next five possessions and endured nearly a six-minute scoring drought. Gatling finally ended the skid with a pair of free throws with 1:24 remaining, then added a 3-pointer with under a minute to go, but the Huskies hit three free throws in the final two minutes to keep CU at arm's length.
"Our guys battled and they fought — there's no doubt about that," Boyle said. "But it was too little too late."
Colorado trailed 35-27 at the half, as the Buffs struggled from the floor in the first 20 minutes (10-for-30) while also committing nine turnovers that led to seven UW points.
The Buffs managed to stay within striking distance by hitting the boards, holding a 24-14 rebound edge. Bey had eight of his points and six of his rebounds before intermission while Lucas Siewert, who did not have a rebound in the Buffs' loss at Washington State, had four boards.
TURNING POINT: A 16-6 Washington run to open the second half put the Buffs in a hole from which they could never completely escape.
WHAT IT MEANS: Now back below .500 in conference play (7-8) and in eighth place, the Buffs are two games behind fourth-place Utah. The Utes visit Boulder next Saturday.
KEY STATISTICS: Colorado committed 19 turnovers, which the Huskies converted into 18 points. CU also shot just 41.5 percent from the floor, Washington had a 12-10 edge in second-chance points, and the Huskies hit eight 3-pointers while CU had just four.
NOTEWORTHY: It was CU's fourth straight loss to Washington, giving the Huskies back-to-back season sweeps. … Freshman guard Eli Parquet played 20 minutes, his most since playing 21 against Arizona State in early January, and did a solid job defensively on UW senior David Crisp. … Evan Battey made his second start of the season, replacing Siewert in the starting lineup. It was the first game this year that Siewert did not start. Battey found himself in foul trouble early, but still had four points and four rebounds while Siewert had four points and seven rebounds.
QUOTEWORTHY: "You hear me talking about toughness a lot. Toughness is part coming into a building like this and not turning it over 19 times. That's part of toughness, it really is. Passing and catching and being strong with the ball and not getting stripped. Making tough, strong plays. Going up and getting to the foul line. We never got into the bonus in the second half. The margin for error for Colorado to come into this building and win is very, very thin. We didn't play well enough tonight to get done what we needed to get done." — CU head coach Tad Boyle
NEXT UP: The Buffs play their final three regular season games at home. CU has just one game next week, a 4 p.m. game Saturday against Utah at the CU Events Center. Colorado then wraps up the regular season with a March 7 game against UCLA, followed by the March 9 regular season finale against USC.
Story by Neill Woelk, Contributing Editor, CUBuffs.com
