Buffs Player of the Game against No. 6 Arizona: K.J. Simpson

K.J. Simpson did his part against Arizona.

A grueling stretch of games for the Colorado Buffaloes began with a game against No. 6 Arizona on Thursday.

At the end of the first half, the Buffs were down just four points and it appeared like they had a chance to upset the Wildcats.

Unfortunately, the second half was all Arizona, which outscored Colorado by 17 points in the final 20 minutes and won the game with a final score of 76-55.

But, the one bright spot for Tad Boyle’s group was freshman guard K.J. Simpson, who piled on a career-high 17 points on 5-of-11 from the field and added four assists, three steals and three rebounds.

The majority of Simpson’s scoring came in the first half, as the talented guard scored 14 of his 17 in the first 20 minutes of the game.

Unfortunately, the Buffs couldn’t get a win. Even worse, Simpson was the only Colorado player to finish in double-figures.

Evan Battey scored nine points and added seven boards, but shot just 3-for-10 from the field, including 1-for-6 from beyond the arc.

The entire starting five combined for just 26 points, which couldn’t match CU’s 29 points off the bench.

That won’t get it done most nights, especially against a top-10 team like Arizona in Tucson.

The road doesn’t get any easier for Colorado. The Buffs face Arizona State in Tempe on Saturday before a pair of home games against USC and UCLA, both currently in the AP top five.

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