Utah Utes basketball: Colorado Buffaloes leads Utah at halftime, 25-23

LOS ANGELES — Colorado holds a 25-23 halftime lead over Utah in the Pac-12 Tournament at the Staples Center. The game pits the two newcomers to the conference.

Utah got downright defensive early in the first half. The Utes jumped out to an 11-4 lead while holding Colorado scoreless for more than 10 minutes. The Buffaloes missed 10 consecutive shots from the field after Carlon Brown opened the game with a layup. The drought ensued just over a minute later following a pair of free throws by Andre Roberson.

Trailing 4-0, Utah reeled off 11 straight points to take control. Jason Washburn paced the outburst with four points, while Cedric Martin and Dijon Farr each added three. A free throw by Anthony Odunsi accounted for the other score.

The Buffaloes didn't respond until Roberson stole the ball from Martin and raced down the floor for a dunk with 8:22 left to play in the half. It ushered in a 6-0 run that pulled them back into contention at 11-10.

After Utah regained some breathing room on a 3-pointer by Chris Hines, Roberson fueled another Colorado outburst — netting five points in an 8-0 spurt that gave the Buffaloes an 18-14 advantage. They eventually expanded the lead to five points before Farr closed the gap on a buzzer-beating shot from beyond the arc.

Roberson tops all scorers with 12 points at the break. Brown, who played three seasons at Utah before transferring to Colorado, has nine.

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