Colorado looked like it was ready to earn its first conference win as part of the Big 12 once again Tuesday night, but too many missed opportunities in the final minutes cost the Buffs on their quest for a victory over visiting Arizona State at CU Events Center.
A last-second heave from Andrej Jakimovski was just off the mark ending the night for the Buffs with a 70-68 loss to the shorthanded Sun Devils.
"I'm not sure I've ever felt as bad for a group of guys as I do for this group that was in the locker room," CU head coach Tad Boyle said following the loss. "Because they're trying, they really are. Now, we're not playing smart enough, we're not playing tough enough, we're not playing consistent enough and that's my job.
"... This program has set a standard of defending at a high level and rebounding at a high level, consistently throughout the 14 years that we've been here. This team is nowhere near good enough defensively or rebounding the basketball to win a game like tonight."
CU (9-11, 0-9 Big 12) was the better team for a big portion of the second half as Jakimovski and several of his teammates helped the Buffs climb out of a 33-26 halftime deficit. Eventually, Colorado outscored the Sun Devils, 42-37, in the second half behind a balanced scoring effort that featured contributions from six different players led by 13 second-half points from Julian Hammond III.
The senior was held scoreless in the first 20 minutes but went 5 for 13 in the second half to erase what had become a 12-point deficit early in the second half. The Buffs took their first lead of the game on a pair of free throws from Hammond with 11:59 to play.
The two free throws were part of a 19-5 run that helped CU take control midway through the half. Hammond accounted for 11 points during that stretch.
Neither team led by more than 5 points the rest of the night as the Sun Devils (12-8, 3-6) and Buffs each delivered blows over the final 12 minutes of the contest.
A 7-0 run by ASU that ended with a bucket from Adam Miller in the lane flipped the game in favor of the Sun Devils with 7:12 to play and the Buffs were never able to regain a lead the rest of the contest.
A basket from Sebastian Ranick, following the second of two big dunks for Bangot Dak, helped CU tie the game at 64-64 with 1:54 to play but the Buffs simply couldn't get shots to fall in the final minutes.
Colorado missed seven shots in the final 1:01 of the game allowing ASU to squeak out a win in Boulder. The Buffs were just 2 for 11 on their final attempts in Tuesday's game.
Trevor Baskin shined for a lot of the night off the bench to finish the game with 19 points, but his last basket came with 8:34 still to play. He finished the loss with 4 rebounds and an assist in 31 minutes for the Buffs.
"It's frustrating, but we're a resilient group and we'll find a way to battle back," Baskin said after the loss.
In addition to his 13 points, Hammond also contributed a team-high 4 assists plus 5 rebounds. Dak had several impressive plays at the rim Tuesday night, and the CU big man finished with 13 points plus a team-high 6 rebounds.
Rancik had 9 points and 4 rebounds for CU in his first start.
The Buffs will be back on the floor Sunday at 2 p.m. when they travel to Forth Worth to take on TCU before heading to Salt Lake City to square off with Utah next Wednesday.
