Tristan da Silva scored 20 points and J’Vonne Hadley added 12 as Colorado held off Yale for a 65-62 victory Sunday in Boulder, Colo.
KJ Simpson added 10 points for the Buffaloes (4-3), who led by 10 at halftime.
John Poulakidas scored 22 points and Matt Knowling finished with 14 for the visiting Bulldogs (6-1).
Colorado led 19-8 midway through the first half. Poulakidas ended a nearly four-minute drought for the Bulldogs with a 3-pointer that sparked a 12-5 run to close the deficit to 24-20.
Yale went cold again and the Buffaloes took a 38-28 advantage into the break.
Colorado pulled ahead by 12 on a jumper by da Silva in the first minute of the second half but the Bulldogs again made a run.
Poulakidas hit a pair of 3-pointers and Isaiah Kelly and Knowling both dunked during a 14-4 surge that pulled Yale within 46-44 with 12:58 left.
After Kelly answered two free throws by da Silva with another dunk, the Bulldogs had another costly drought. They missed six straight shots and turned it over twice while Colorado started to pull away.
The Buffaloes took a 56-46 lead during Yale’s scoreless stretch that lasted nearly six minutes.
Knowling finally scored for the Bulldogs with 6:44 left and they continued to chip away at Colorado’s lead.
It was 61-58 with 1:59 remaining after Poulakidas drained his sixth 3-pointer of the contest.
The Buffaloes missed on the other end and Bez Mbeng made a layup with 1:05 left to get within 61-60.
Yale had a chance to take its first lead after Colorado’s Jalen Gabbidon missed a layup, but Mbeng turned it over with 12 seconds left.
Julian Hammond III and Gabbidon each made a pair of free throws in the final 10 seconds to help Colorado close it out.
–Field Level Media
