A long Colorado scoring drought in the middle of the second half turned a close contest into a blowout in Los Angeles, as the Buffs fell to UCLA, 72-59
Colorado started strong with the help of Xavier Talton, who hit two three-pointers in the first four minutes, receiving his third straight start.
A 9-0 UCLA run put the Buffs behind 16-11. Late in the first half, a 7-0 Colorado mini-run capped by a Tre'Shaun Fletcher three cut the deficit to two with 4:41 to play in the half.
Colorado would fail to hit another field goal until Dominique Collier converted a difficult layup with 10 seconds left, as Colorado entered the locker room down 27-23.
At the beginning of the second half, it looked as if the Buffs had figured out their offensive woes. Dustin Thomas finished a layup in transition and converted the and-one free throw, tying the contest at 33.
From Thomas's and-one at the 15:50 mark in the second half until 6:14 to play in the game, Colorado hit just one shot from the field. By the time Wesley Gordon broke the drought, Colorado was down 19.
Askia Booker finished with 16 points, and Gordon added 10 to round out CU's double digit scorers.
Colorado returns to the Coors Events Center on Saturday for a matchup with the Utah Utes.