Buffs go to 3-0 with rout

COLORADO 90, MAINE 46

Netting the first two wins of the season required the Colorado men’s basketball team to dig deep and make clutch plays down the stretch to prevail in tightly contested games.

Maine offered a chance for the Buffs to address a few early shortcomings while giving a break to a collective nervous system that was taxed in those opening games.

CU did its part by dispatching the visiting Black Bears accordingly, shaking off Maine’s pesky start to steadily pull away for a comfortable 90-46 win Monday night at the CU Events Center.

With the victory, the Buffs went 3-for-3 during the season-opening, threegame homestand and will regroup during a scheduled day off on Tuesday before departing for the US Virgin Islands, where they open the three-game Paradise Jam tournament on Friday against Southern Illinois.

Maine shot well early and remained within 25-22 of the Buffs on a 3-pointer by Lechaun Duhart, a former prep star at Grandview High School in Aurora. From there, though, the Buffs outscored Maine 21-7 over the final five minutes of the first half, taking a 4629 lead into halftime.

Maine’s Milos Nanadic opened the second half with a 3-pointer to trim the Black Bears’ deficit to 14 points, but CU scored the next 14 points to put Maine away.

For the third straight game to start the season, CU point guard Keeshawn Barthelemy established a new career scoring high, this time with 22 points on a 9-for-12 night from the field. Jabari Walker finished with 15 points and six rebounds, and CU held Maine to a .200 mark (5-for-25) from the floor after halftime.