BOULDER — Colorado took No. 4 UCLA down to the wire Sunday but the Buffaloes came up just short in the end, dropping a 60-56 decision at the CU Events Center.
Tad Boyle's Buffs fell to 15-15 overall and 7-12 in Pac-12 play while the Bruins won their eighth in a row to improve to 25-4, 16-2.
HOW IT HAPPENED: Colorado led by as much as 10 in the first half and still had a two-point edge at the break, 30-28. But the Bruins opened the second half with a 7-0 run and built their lead to six, 38-32, less than six minutes in.
But the Buffs answered. CU slowly chipped away at the lead and finally knotted the score at 42-42 after a KJ Simpson drive to the basket and a Luke O'Brien 3-pointer with 9:29 to play.
Following a timeout, Colorado then regained the lead on a long Tristan da Silva 3-pointer to give CU a 45-44 edge.
The two teams then traded the lead five times over the next four minutes, and the Buffs' hopes took a big hit when da Silva limped to the locker room with a leg injury with 5:15 to play.
The Buffs, though, responded with 3-pointers from O'Brien and Nique Clifford, with Clifford's trey giving Colorado a 52-50 edge with 4:11 to play.
But the Bruins regained the lead with 2:17 to play on a Jaime Jaquez free throw, then pushed the margin to three, 56-53, on a Tyger Campbell floater with 1:23 on the clock.
Colorado trimmed the deficit to two on a Simpson free throw, then had a chance to tie the game when the Buffs took possession after a UCLA miss.
But Simpson's drive to the lane was blocked, creating a transition dunk for the Bruins and giving UCLA a four-point lead with 16 seconds remaining, 58-54.
Both teams then added two free throws in the final seconds to complete the scoring.
After UCLA opened the game with a basket, Colorado responded with an 11-0 run. KJ Simpson had five points in the surge and the Buffaloes led for the rest of the half.
Colorado's defense was rock solid early, holding UCLA to 1-for-11 shooting over the first six minutes.
The Buffs extended their lead to as much as 10, taking a 21-11 lead on a Quincy Allen 3-pointer with 7:55 left in the half.
But the Bruins slowly chipped away at the lead and a Jaylen Clark basket at the buzzer cut Colorado's lead to 30-28 at intermission.
CU finished the half shooting 11-for-29 while the Bruins recovered from their slow start to finish 12-for-30 from the field, hitting 11 of 19 after their 1-for-11 start.
The Buffs also left some points on the free throw line, hitting five of nine tries from the stripe.
Simpson led the Buffs with 9 points in the opening half, Tristan da Silva added six and Luke O'Brien had five points and seven rebounds. Ethan Wright delivered three big assists in the first 20 minutes.
NEXT UP: The Buffs wrap up the regular season next Saturday with a 3:30 p.m. game at home against Utah. CU then heads to Las Vegas for the March 8-11 Pac-12 tournament, with the Buffs likely to play the No. 8 vs. No. 9 game at 1 p.m. on March 8.
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