Colorado wins 3rd straight, beats Cal 88-78 behind Simpson’s 27 points and Da Silva’s 22

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — KJ Simpson scored 27 points, Tristan da Silva added 22 and Colorado beat California 88-78 on Wednesday night for its third straight win.

Colorado (19-9, 10-7) avenged an 82-78 loss at Cal in January, and the win keeps the Buffaloes in contention for a top-four conference finish and a first-round bye in the Pac-12 tournament. The Buffs entered in a fourth-place tie with UCLA, which plays at Washington on Thursday.

Simpson and da Silva were a combined 15-of-28 shooting and 16 of 18 from the free-throw line. The pair also had 14 of Colorado’s 18 assists.

J’Vonne Hadley added 13 points and Eddie Lampkin Jr. had 12 for the Buffaloes, who shot 50% (29 of 58) from the floor.

Jaylon Tyson scored 25 points to lead Cal (13-16, 9-9), which had its three-game win streak snapped.

Colorado took the lead for good three minutes into the game and ended the first half on a 12-6 surge for a 45-31 halftime advantage. Da Silva scored 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting and made all five of his free throws. Hadley and Lampkin combined for 15 first-half points. Jalen Celestine scored nine of his 11 points in the first half for the Bears.

Tyson’s 3-pointer pulled Cal to 58-53 with 13 minutes to play, but the Bears didn’t get closer. Simpson scored 18 points in the second half.

Cal plays at Utah on Saturday. Colorado hosts Stanford on Sunday.

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