Colorado dumps Oregon State 73-57 behind Lampkin Jr. to close Pac-12 with six straight wins
Colorado guard KJ Simpson (2) shoots over Oregon State center KC Ibekwe, right, during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, March 9, 2024, in Corvallis, Ore. Credit: AP/Amanda Loman
CORVALLIS, Ore. — Eddie Lampkin Jr. scored 17 points on 8-for-10 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds and Colorado beat Oregon State 73-57 on Saturday to end the regular season for both teams.
Colorado (22-9, 13-7 Pac-12 Conference) has won six straight and its 22 wins marks a program record in 121 years of play. The Buffs' third-place finish in the Pac-12 represents its highest in program history.
J'Vonne Hadley and KJ Simpson each had 15 points, Tristan da Silva scored 12 and Luke O'Brien 10 as Colorado's starting five all finished in double digits.
Dexter Akanno scored 15 points, Tyler Bilodeau 14, Michael Rataj 12 and Jordan Pope 10 for the Beavers (13-18, 5-15), who lost nine of their last 11 games.
Colorado used an 11-2 run after Pope made two foul shots to get Oregon State within 14-10 with 12:18 left before halftime. O’Brien made a 3-pointer, Simpson made a jump shot, O'Brien followed with a layup, Eddie Lampkin Jr. made a jumper, and Tristan da Silva threw down a dunk and the Buffaloes led 25-12.
The Buffs went on to a 41-27 advantage at the break shooting 47.2% (17 for 36). It marked the first time in seven games they hadn't shot 50% or above in the first half.
Colorado started the second half with an 11-3 run to build its largest lead of the game at 52-30 and cruised to the win from there. Oregon State trailed by double digits for the duration of the second half.
Colorado center Eddie Lampkin Jr. (44) shoots off a rebound as Oregon State center KC Ibekwe, left, and guard Dexter Akanno, right, defend during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, March 9, 2024, in Corvallis, Ore. Credit: AP/Amanda Loman
Oregon State enters as the conference's 12th seed and will play the No. 5 seed on Wednesday in Las Vegas. Colorado gets a first-round bye by virtue of its top-four finish and will play the winner of Wednesday's sixth-versus-11th-seed game in the late game on Thursday night.
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