Buffs Top UNC In Two Overtimes To Give Boyle 300th Win At CU
Colorado Rallies From 14 Down, Wins 82-78
In a thrilling back-and-forth game, the Colorado Buffaloes rallied from a 14-point deficit to defeat the North Carolina Tar Heels 82-78 in double overtime on Tuesday night at the CU Events Center. The victory gave Colorado head coach Tad Boyle his 300th win with the program.
McKinley Wright IV got fouled and sent to the line with 50 seconds left in the second overtime period. He made the first but missed the second and Nassir Little of North Carolina grabbed the rebound. The Tar Heels called a timeout and had a chance to tie it up.
UNC guard Caleb Love attempted a 3-point field goal, but it bounced off the rim and into the hands of Tristan da Silva. Tristan was immediately fouled and sent to the line with 17.1 left in the game. He also made 1-of-2 free throws to extend Colorado's lead to three points (81-78).
UNC had one more chance to tie it up, but R.J. Davis missed a jumper with just seconds remaining. Tristan came down with the rebound again and was fouled and went to the line with 0.9 left in the game.
Tristan made 1-of-2 again, giving the Buffs an 82-78 lead. Armando Bacot grabbed the rebound and got past the half-court line, but his desperation heave came up well short of the basket.
Wright, da Silva Lead Buffs
McKinley Wright IV and Tristan da Silva led the Buffaloes with 22 points each. Wright also had 6 rebounds and 5 assists, while da Silva had 7 rebounds and 3 assists.
Evan Battey added 18 points and 11 rebounds for Colorado, while Jabari Walker had 15 points and 8 rebounds.
Leaky Black Leads Tar Heels
Leaky Black led the Tar Heels with 22 points, while Caleb Love added 16 points and Armando Bacot had 15 points and 12 rebounds.
R.J. Davis also scored 11 points for North Carolina.
Back-and-Forth Game
The game was back-and-forth throughout, with neither team leading by more than seven points at any point in regulation.
North Carolina took a 34-32 lead into halftime, but Colorado rallied in the second half to take a 57-53 lead with just over eight minutes remaining.
The Tar Heels came back to tie the game at 60-60 with just over two minutes remaining, and the game went into overtime.
Overtime
The first overtime period was also back-and-forth, with neither team leading by more than three points.
Colorado took a 70-67 lead with just over a minute remaining, but North Carolina came back to tie the game at 70-70 with just seconds remaining.
The second overtime period was also close, with neither team leading by more than three points.
Colorado ultimately pulled away in the final minutes to secure the victory.
Boyle's 300th Win
The victory was Boyle's 300th win with the Colorado Buffaloes.
He is now the winningest coach in Colorado history, passing Sox Walseth who had 294 wins.
Boyle has led the Buffaloes to the NCAA Tournament 10 times in his 12 seasons at the helm.
Up Next
The Buffaloes will host the Oregon Ducks on Saturday, January 22nd at the CU Events Center.
The Tar Heels will host the Virginia Tech Hokies on Saturday, January 22nd at the Dean Smith Center.
