Colorado holds off Arizona State behind Barrington Hargress’ 23 points

Barrington Hargress scored 23 points and Sebastian Rancik had 17 as Colorado defeated Arizona State 78-70 in a Big 12 game Saturday in Boulder, Col.

The Buffaloes (14-10, 4-7 Big 12) shot 50.8% from the field (31 of 61) as they outscored the Sun Devils (12-12, 3-8) 42-26 in the paint.

Isaiah Johnson also had 16 for Colorado.

Arizona State was led by Maurice Odum with 23 points and Massamba Diop's 19 and team-high seven rebounds.

After squandering its seven-point halftime lead and battling back and forth, the Buffaloes reclaimed control with a 7-0 run that gave them a 64-56 lead with 8:48 left.

The Sun Devils were able to cut the deficit to two with a 6-0 run over the ensuing two minutes with Diop finishing a pair of dunks.

Bangot Dak, however, hit a short jumper and Rancik nailed a 3-pointer to give Colorado a seven-point lead with 5:28 left which was never cut to less than three the rest of the way.

The Buffaloes built a 12-point first-half lead by shooting 46.9% from the floor (15 of 32), while the Sun Devils struggled from the floor hitting only 32.3% (10 of 31) of their shots in the first 20 minutes.

The Buffaloes led by 10 midway through the first half after the Sun Devils went over five minutes with a made basket.

Rancik had five points during the stretch with two free throws and a 3-pointer.

Dak finished the run with a rousing dunk down the lane with 7:27 left in the half to make it 26-16 Colorado.

Colorado took a 32-21 lead on back-to-back layups by Dak and Hargress with 5:23 left in the half.

Anthony Johnson scored two of the Sun Devils' 18 second-chance points on a tip-in with 3:30 left to make it 34-27.

Hargress responded with a jumper and Rancik hit a 3-pointer to give Colorado a 39-27 lead with 1:57 to go.

The Sun Devils were able to get back within single digits in the final two minutes when Odum hit two free throws and Johnson scored on a layup with 33 seconds left to make it 39-31 at the break.