Gabe Madsen keyed a late surge and finished with 17 points to lift Utah to a 72-59 win over Colorado on Wednesday in Salt Lake City.
The Utes (13-9, 5-6 Big 12) dominated the Buffaloes (9-13, 0-11) in the final five minutes to earn just their second win in five games.
Utah’s Lawson Lovering added 12 points and six rebounds, while Ezra Ausar (seven rebounds) and Mason Madsen (five boards) each scored 10 points.
Javon Ruffin put up 13 and Bangot Dak had 11, but the Buffaloes went cold down the stretch after pulling within two points. They went on to absorb their 11th straight loss.
The Utes were up by 10 when the Buffaloes went on a Dak-led 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 45-42 with 10:08 left.
Trevor Baskin hit a jumper with 4:37 remaining, and Colorado was within 52-50.
Gabe Madsen responded with a 3-pointer, but Baskin nailed another jumper as Colorado trailed 55-52 with 3:58 left.
Once again, Gabe Madsen responded with a bucket and Utah quickly built a 14-point lead thanks to an 11-0 run over the ensuing two-plus minutes. The game-winning spurt included a goaltend-assisted layup for Gabe Madsen, a Hunter Erickson 3-pointer and an Ausar dunk.
Colorado shot 38.2 percent overall while making only 7 of 27 (25.9 percent) from 3-point range. Utah hit 48.9 percent from the field and drained 8 of 18 (44.4 percent) from beyond the arc. The Utes converted just 18 of 35 free throws (51.4 percent).
Early on, Utah held a one-point lead before Mason Madsen ignited a 13-2 run with five straight points. That put Utes up 23-11 — a 12-point lead they took into halftime thanks to a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Gabe Madsen.
Colorado came out of the break strong, and Dak hit a trey and made a jumper in a 7-0 run. Meanwhile, the Utes didn’t score for the 4 1/2 minutes of the second half until Mason Madsen connected on a 3-pointer.
–Field Level Media
