BOULDER, Colo. — Evan Battey made four free throws in the final 15 seconds and finished with 21 points, leading Colorado to an 82-79 victory over Arizona on Saturday night.
Christian Koloko’s dunk for Arizona tied the game at 78-all. Following a Colorado timeout with 15.3 seconds to go, Battey was fouled immediately away from the ball and then made two free throws.
Arizona’s Terrell Brown Jr. was fouled on his layup attempt with 5.6 seconds left, but he missed the first of two free throws. On the ensuing inbounds, Brown fouled and rolled over Battey’s left ankle.
Grimacing and limping to the line, Battey hit both free throws with 4.6 seconds remaining. James Akinjo’s desperation heave from half court hit the backboard at the buzzer.
McKinley Wright IV added 17 points and six assists for Colorado (14-5, 8-4 Pac-12). Jeriah Horne had 10 points and surpassed 1,000 in his career (1,003).
Bennedict Mathurin scored 22 points to lead Arizona (13-6, 7-6). Azuolas Tubelis added 18 points and Akinjo finished with 16 points and had seven assists.
The Buffaloes opened on a 19-2 run, but Arizona cut the deficit to 41-32 at halftime. The Wildcats took their first lead of the game, 53-52 with 10:38 remaining.
Kerr Kriisa’s 3-pointer gave the Wildcats a 60-59 advantage with nine minutes left and they led until Eli Parquet’s 3 tied the game at 76 with 1:11 remaining.
Colorado hosts Oregon State on Monday while Arizona will play the Beavers at home on Thursday.
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