National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Colorado 58, Washington St. 55
When: 6:00 PM ET, Sunday, January 22, 2023
Where: CU Events Center, Boulder, Colorado
Officials: # Verne Harris, # John Higgins, # Keith Kimble
Attendance: N/A

KJ Simpson had 16 points and made the go-ahead 3-pointer in the closing seconds as Colorado beat Washington State 58-55 on Sunday in Boulder, Colo.

Tristan da Silva scored 27 for the Buffaloes (12-9, 4-6 Pac-12), who improved to 12-0 at home against the Cougars all-time.

TJ Bamba scored 18 points and Andrej Jakimovski added 12 for Washington State (9-12, 4-6).

Bamba scored with 40 seconds left to put the Cougars back in front after they had trailed by four with 3:30 to play. Simpson made two free throws with 35.6 seconds left and Bamba split a pair with 25 seconds left to tie it.

Simpson made Colorado's second 3-pointer of the day from the top of the circle and Bamba missed at the buzzer.

The Cougars took advantage of early Colorado turnovers to grab a 10-point lead with 5:58 left in the first half, but the Buffaloes rallied.

Simpson's layup got it started and da Silva had a three-point play and two more buckets during a 13-0 run that gave Colorado the lead. Jakimovski hit a jumper to end Washington State's drought, and it had a chance to take the lead at intermission but two poor possessions let the Buffaloes grab a 26-25 advantage at halftime.

The Cougars took a 34-30 lead early in the second half but went cold. Washington State missed seven straight shots and turned it over twice during a scoreless stretch of 5:13.

DJ Rodman's 3-pointer started a 6-0 run that put the Cougars back in front 40-39, and the game was tied at 43 with 8:01 left.

While Washington State went quiet again, J'Vonne Hadley, da Silva and Jalen Gabbidon combined for four free throws to put Colorado back in front 47-43 with 4:57 left.

Rodman made two foul shots to cut the Buffaloes' lead to 47-45 but Simpson's driving dunk made it a four-point game again. The teams traded layups and Washington State called a timeout trailing 51-47 with 3:23 left.

Jakimovski hit a 3-pointer, Hadley made a hook shot for Colorado and Bamba made a jumper to trim it to 53-52 with 1:43 left.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Washington St.   Colorado
TJ Bamba 18 Scoring Tristan Da Silva 27
TJ Bamba 2 Assists KJ Simpson 3
Andrej Jakimovski 7 Rebounds Luke O'Brien 6
Jabe Mullins 3 Free Throws Made KJ Simpson 5
TJ Bamba 2 Steals KJ Simpson 3
Adrame Diongue 2 Blocks N/A
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Washington St. 55 39.2 4-16 11-15 7 27 3 7 17
Colorado 58 50.0 2-7 14-23 6 27 0 6 17