Evan Battey scored a career-high 27 points and Jabari Walker added 22 points to lead Colorado to an 84-71 road victory over Utah in Salt Lake City on Saturday night.
Walker added 12 rebounds and five assists for the Buffaloes. Battey finished with six boards and made a career-high six 3-pointers. Nique Clifford chipped in 11 points.
Colorado (20-10, 12-8 Pac-12) clinched the #4 seed and a first-round bye in the upcoming Pac-12 tournament.
David Jenkins Jr. and Branden Carlson scored 18 points apiece to lead Utah. Lazar Stefanovic chipped in 12 for the Utes.
Utah (11-19, 4-16) will be the #11 seed in the Pac-12 tournament next week.
Colorado dominated from the perimeter in the first half. The Buffaloes went 9-of-13 from 3-point range and blew the game wide open before halftime.
Utah took a brief 5-3 lead on a layup from Carlson before Colorado ripped off a 25-5 run to bury the Utes.
Battey made back-to-back 3-pointers to start the run and put the Buffaloes ahead for good. He and Walker combined for Colorado’s first seven baskets to fuel the run. Clifford capped it off with a layup that gave the Buffaloes a 28-10 lead.
Utah missed eight of nine shots over a 6 1/2-minute stretch to open the door for Colorado to take control. The Utes trailed by double digits over the final 34 minutes.
The Buffaloes staked out a 50-29 lead by halftime after Clifford scored three baskets over the final three minutes of the first half as part of a 15-5 run. Fifty first-half points marked a season high for Colorado.
Colorado led by as many as 29 points after halftime, going up 64-35 on a three-point play from K.J. Simpson.
