Arizona State rolls past Colorado 82-65

Feb 24, 2022, 11:17 pm

BOULDER, Colo. -- — Jay Heath and Luther Muhammad combined for 27 second-half points when Arizona State left Colorado behind for an 82-65 victory on Thursday night, snapping the Buffaloes' five-game winning streak.

ASU (11-16, 7-10 Pac-12), which had a three-game win streak end with a loss at No. 12 UCLA, halted a five-game losing skid to Colorado (18-10, 10-8) that included an 18-point loss on Jan. 15.

Heath finished with 18 points, 14 in the second half when Muhammad scored 13 of his 15. Marreon Jackson scored 13 of his 17 points in the first half when he had four of his five steals in leading ASU to an 11-point halftime lead. Jalen Graham added 14 points.

Evans Battey led the Buffs with 13 points with Jabari Walker adding 12 and Keeshawn Barthelemy 10.

The Sun Devils came in shooting under 30% on 3-pointers but made 9 of 17 for 53% against the Buffs with five players hitting from the arc. ASU was ranked 11th in Pac-12 games in rebounding margin but dominated the boards 38-26. ASU shot 49% to 39% for Colorado, which was 7 of 27 from the arc.

ASU carried a double-digit lead through the second half. Muhammad scored eight straight points in extending a lead to 19 with 12 minutes remaining. Consecutive 3-pointers by Heath made it a 26-point bulge five minutes later.

Jackson hit a 3-pointer with nine minutes left in the first half to start an 11-0 run for a nine-point lead. After the Buffs cut it to three behind five points from Barthelemy, Heath had a pair of buckets to start an 11-1 run capped by another Jackson 3 for a 13-point edge. It was 37-26 at halftime.

ASU is at Utah and Colorado is host to No. 2 Arizona on Saturday.

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