Tristan da Silva scored a career-high 25 points as Colorado broke free at the midway point of the first half and rolled to an 84-60 victory over visiting North Alabama on Thursday in Boulder, Colo.

KJ Simpson scored 12 points and matched a career best with six assists, while J’Vonne Hadley added 11 points as the Buffaloes (6-5) earned their second consecutive victory after losing both games during an early dip into Pac-12 play.

KJ Johnson scored 16 points as North Alabama (6-5) saw its two-game winning streak come to an end. The Lions are now 0-3 against high-level competition, falling to Georgia Tech and Memphis late last month, with a visit to Ole Miss scheduled Tuesday.

The game remained close midway through the first half as North Alabama led 13-12 six minutes into the game. Colorado had an 18-16 lead with 10 minutes remaining before halftime.

A 12-0 run put the Buffaloes up 30-16 with six minutes remaining in the first half and they led comfortably the rest of the way.

Colorado shot 51.5 percent from the field in the first half and led 42-28 at the break as da Silva had 11 points by halftime.

North Alabama used a 10-2 run in the second half to pull within 57-46 with 11:07 remaining before Colorado responded with a 12-2 run to take a 69-48 lead with 7:36 remaining.

The Buffaloes shot 50.8 percent from the field in the game and had a 42-32 rebounding advantage. The Lions shot 38.9 percent with just two fast-break points.

Daniel Ortiz, who entered leading North Alabama in scoring with 13.7 points per game, was held to seven points on 3-of-10 shooting. The Lions have two more games remaining before the start of ASUN play on Dec. 30.

da Silva added a career-best nine rebounds for Colorado, which has two games remaining before returning to Pac-12 play on Dec. 29.

–Field Level Media