Colorado squanders 16-point lead, falls to California 82-78

The Buffaloes have now lost three straight games

Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

The return of star freshman Cody Williams wasn’t enough to help the Buffaloes scratch out a victory Wednesday night at California. Colorado squandered a 16-point second-half lead to fall to the Golden Bears 82-78. It was the Buffs third straight loss after being swept on an Arizona road trip last week. 

Colorado jumped out to a 10-0 start and led 40-26 halftime thanks to strong play from senior Eddie Lampkin Jr. Following a J’Vonne Hadley layup at the 15:28 mark, Tad Boyle’s squad led 52-36. Then the Buffs offense fell flat. California outscored Colorado 29-12 to take their first lead of the game with 4:56 remaining. Hot shooting from the Golden Bears Jalen Cone and Jaylen Tyson down the stretch proved to be the difference in the game.

Lampkin Jr. led Colorado with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Williams, who returned following a seven-game absence due to a wrist injury, finished with 16 points and four rebounds in 38 minutes of play. Tristan da Silva added 20 points and KJ Simpson, the Buffaloes leading scorer entering the game, was held to 12.

Tyson led all scorers with career-high 30 points. Cone added 17 points. The Golden Bears duo combined to go 12-13 from the charity stripe and hit some crucial free throws in the final minutes.

UP NEXT 

California (6-10, 2-3 Pac-12) next travels to Oregon to take on the Ducks Saturday.

Colorado (11-5, 2-3 Pac-12) return home to face Bronny James, Isaiah Collier, and the USC Trojans Saturday (10 p.m. ET/TV: ESPN2). The Buffs are 9-0 at the CU Events Center this season.