For Colorado and Washington State, Thursday's game in Boulder marked a return to action for both teams following extended time off.

With COVID-19 once again disrupting sports across the country, particularly among the Pac-12 Conference's men's basketball programs, the Buffs had not taken the court since Dec. 18, while Cougs last played Dec. 22.

To both teams' credit, throughout the night it appeared that neither the Buffaloes (10-3, 2-1 Pac-12) or Cougars had much rust to shake off.

After trailing WSU by one at halftime, the Buffs turned up the heat offensively in the final 20 minutes, posting an impressive 64% make rate (18-of-28) for the half.

That was in stark contrast to CU's shooting display in the opening half; the Buffs were just 11-of-28 (39%) during that period.

"We were more patient," Tad Boyle, who turned 59 Thursday, said after the win. "We talked about that at halftime, about the fact that in the first half, we're trying to score off of one pass, without the ball being moved from one side of the floor to the other."

"Against Washington State, against good defensive teams, you're not going to score on the first or second pass. You're not going to score if you don't get the ball from one side of the floor to the other."

Sophomore forward Jabari Walker, who was a non-factor in the first half, going 0-for-4 from the floor with zero points, made his presence known in the second half, scoring all of his 16 points in the final half.

Senior Evan Battey was Colorado's primary offensive spark throughout the night, as he finished with a team-high 20 points, with Keeshawn Barthelemy adding 17.

Overall, Colorado's 52% conversion rate was the team's second-best mark of the 2021-22 campaign, trailing only the 54% CU shot in a blowout of Maine back on Nov. 15 of last year.

A few minutes into the game, after back-to-back three-pointers by Battey and Tristan da Silva got the Buffs out to an early 8-2 lead, Washington State managed to battle back, taking an 18-12 lead by the under-12 media timeout.

The Cougars shot north of 50% from the floor for the majority of the first half, with big man Efe Abogidi doing damage early on, as evidenced by his 13 points in the opening half.

With 2:34 left before halftime, a fast break layup by Barthelemy trimmed CU's deficit to two, but less than a minute later, Washington State was back ahead by six after an Abogidi basket, with the Cougs threatening to take a healthy lead into the break.

However, CU managed to close out the half well; Nique Clifford, who turned in a solid performance off the bench, completed a three-point play and was followed by a pair of da Silva free throws.

At halftime, the Buffs trailed by just one, 38-37.

As the second half got underway, there were nine lead changes in the first 10 minutes of play.

While Walker asserted himself for the Buffs in the second half, WSU's Tyrell Roberts had a similar game; after scoring six points in the first 20 minutes, he erupted for 19 more in the second half, leading all game participants with 25 on the night.

Shortly after the second media timeout of the final half, Wazzu held a 58-55 lead. But from there, the Buffs went on a key 11-0 run, with Walker scoring six of those points.

Freshman point guard Julian Hammond III got the run started, finishing on a layup that came via a feed from Battey, who managed a steal on Roberts in the defensive zone.

Just over 20 seconds later, Hammond III returned the favor, notching an assist on a Battey three-pointer that put the Buffs up by four.

Hammond III, who to date has played the role of point guard No. 3 for Colorado, behind Barthelemy and KJ Simpson, saw extended minutes Thursday, filling in for Simpson, who got shaken up on a layup attempt late in the first half and did not return.

When all was said and done, Hammond III had contributed four assists and five rebounds in 14 minutes played.

"He played with the big boys, he didn't play scared — big time minutes by a freshman coming off the bench (who) hasn't gotten a lot of minutes this year," Boyle said. "We always talk about making the time you're on the floor count...he did that tonight and it's going to earn him some more minutes in the future."

By the time WSU's TJ Bamba hit the Cougs' first basket in over two minutes, they were trailing Colorado, 66-60, with 8:40 to play.

Colorado held onto a lead of at least two baskets for the vast majority of the remaining time in the second half, before a Bamba three-pointer made the score 79-76 in favor of CU, with 63 seconds left.

From there, Elijah Parquet hit a layup that all but sealed things.

With a fresh game under their belts, the Buffaloes will look ahead to Sunday afternoon's (3 p.m. MST) home game vs. Washington.