LAHAINA, Hawaii — The Colorado men’s basketball time finally found its mettle in Maui.
And they were rewarded with a monumental victory.
Bouncing back from the trouncing CU received in its opening game of the Maui Invitational, the Buffs pulled off a stunner on Tuesday, topping No. 2, two-time defending national champion 73-72 at the Lahaina Civic Center.
Andrej Jakimovski converted the winning points on a driving bucket with 5.9 seconds remaining, the Buffs recorded one final stop to pull off the upset. The victory tied the second-highest ranked win in CU’s program history.
UConn led 40-32 at halftime, but early in the second half the Buffs reeled off 11 consecutive points to take their first lead at 48-46. The Huskies led 72-j69 after a putback basket by Jaylin Stewart with 1 minute, 29 seconds remaining.
Elijah Malone converted the last of his 16 points to get CU within 72-71, and after a huge defensive play by Javon Ruffin got the ball back for the Buffs, Jakimovski was able to score the game-winner.
CU (5-1) went 9-for-16 on 3-pointers and outrebounded UConn 28-26, one day after Michigan State outrebounded the Buffs by 13. Senior guard Julian Hammond III went 4-for-5 on 3-pointers and shared the team lead with 16 points, while Jakimovski recorded his first double-double with CU, finishing with 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
The Buffs will play Tuesday’s winner between No. 5 Iowa State and Dayton in the Maui finale on Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. MT.
This story will be updated
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