In the wee hours of Tuesday morning, Colorado woke up for their 11 p.m. game against Auburn.
With 11:45 to play, Auburn trailed Colorado by just six points. That's when Askia Booker put the Tigers to bed. The senior from Los Angeles caught the ball at the top of the key, pump faked, and absorbed contact, banking home a three-pointer, and drawing a foul.
Booker would miss the free throw, but Josh Scott grabbed the rebound and found Booker, who nailed a jumper to complete a five-point possession.
The possession helped kick off a 24-0 Colorado scoring run, ending any talk of an upset in Boulder, as CU prevailed comfortably, 90-59.
"I didn't even realize it at the time," head coach Tad Boyle said on the run. "I just know we kept getting stops. We talked in practice the last two days about attacking their press, if they were going to come into this building and press us we have got to try and make them pay. I thought we did in the second half."
Colorado shot 51.9 percent from the field in the first half, but Auburn hung around by fighting on the offensive glass (eight first half offensive rebounds). A K.T. Harrell three-pointer with 1:08 on the clock in the first half sparked a 6-0 Tiger mini-run to close the half, bringing Auburn to within four, 38-34.
Auburn was never able to claw to within any closer than two in the second half before Colorado's 24-0 run effectively ended the evening.
Wesley Gordon had perhaps the best game of his Colorado career, scoring 16 points on 8-of-11 shooting, and grabbing 12 boards. Josh Scott and Xavier Johnson each added 17 points to lead CU.
"Sometimes he doesn't know how good he is, and how good he can be," Boyle said when asked about Gordon's performance. "Tonight's his first double-double, I don't think it'll be his last."
Boyle gave his team Tuesday off before preparing for an always-daunting road trip to Laramie.
"It was a good night, but guess what? We've got another game on Saturday, and it's going to be a knock-down, drag-out (fight). Playing Wyoming, it's like going to the dentist. It's not a lot of fun, I don't look forward to it, but we've got a few days to prepare," said Boyle.