Breakdown: Late basket ends WSU's chance at road win against Colorado

Washington State had a chance to steal a win on the road in a hostile Colorado environment Sunday. However, in a low-scoring contest from both sides, a late three from Buffaloes sophomore guard KJ Simpson with 4 seconds left and a miss from junior guard TJ Bamba as time expired lifted Colorado to a 58-55 win over the Cougars.

Sunday's game was another heartbreaking one for the Cougars, which struggled to find offense and ended the contest shooting 39% from the field. WSU hit just four threes on the afternoon.

The Cougars (9-12, 4-6 Pac-12) played a solid game defensively, but the final possession on that end of the floor proved to be too much after Colorado hit the game-winner shot.

The Buffaloes (12-9, 4-6 Pac-12) struggled offensively throughout the game, shooting 60% at the free-throw line and only attempting seven total 3-pointers, due to the good perimeter defense from the Cougars. That ultimately pushed Colorado to look inside.

Buffaloes big man Tristan da Silva finished the game with 27 points on 11-of-13 shooting from the field, and Colorado closed the night with a 32-26 advantage in the paint and won the rebounding battle 30-27.

“We gave [da Silva] too many easy looks but to his credit, he just made everything,” WSU head coach Kyle Smith said. “We didn’t stay down on him… he’d get you up, he could spin and go both ways.”

It was another game in which the Cougars had several chances to not only come back from their halftime deficit but also have a chance to win the game, and they again let opportunity slip through their fingers in another close loss.

Smith felt the defense was better against Colorado versus the game Thursday night against Utah, but his team still struggled with the defensive pressure applied by the Buffaloes.

The Cougars were happy to welcome back Bamba back, after he dropped a team-high 18 points on Sunday afternoon, but unfortunately was not enough to secure the win after Gueye couldn’t find the basket and the rest of the team struggled to get shots to fall.

“"We competed a lot better than we did at Utah," he said. "... Really proud that TJ gave us a chance to win that game … just a tough one."

Bamba returned to the starting lineup and made eight of his 18 shots from the field and was the major contributor for a struggling offense that couldn’t hit anything from the perimeter.

The junior guard led the team with 18 points in his first game back. When the Cougars needed their captain, he stepped up in a close loss. He put the team on his back and almost made the game-tying three to potentially force overtime.

Junior forward Andrej Jakimovski also was a solid contributor offensively, making 5-of-7 field goals and scoring double-digit points for the second time all season after dropping 17 points against Stanford at home earlier in the season.

The Cougars now in a three-way tie for seventh place with Washington and Colorado at 4-6 in the conference standings, but one of just four teams in the conference under .500 overall.

WSU now sits at 1-6 on the road this season, and have dropped back-to-back games that the Cougars could have easily won with better defense against Utah and more consistent offense against Colorado.

The Cougars now face the two best roads teams in the Pac-12 at home starting with a rematch against No. 6 Arizona at 8 p.m. on Thursday night in Beasley Coliseum on FS1.

The Wildcats (17-3, 6-3) will look to avenge their home loss to WSU after the Cougars ended what had been a 28-game home winning streak.

WSU then hosts Arizona State at 5 p.m. on Saturday night in Beasley on ESPNU to complete the season series with the Arizona schools.

Mouhamed Gueye: 5 rebounds, 4 turnovers, 4 personal fouls

Andrej Jakimovski: 12 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals

DJ Rodman: 8 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist

TJ Bamba: 18 points, 1 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals

Justin Powell: 7 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal

Adrame Diongue: 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks

Kymany Houinsou: 3 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals

Dylan Darling: 1 turnover, 1 personal foul

Jabe Mullins: 7 points, 1 rebound, 1 turnover