BOULDER — Tyler Bey and McKinley Wright each scored 16 points and No. 23 Colorado leaned on a strong defensive effort to beat UC Irvine 69-53 on Monday night.
Colorado (3-0) pressured Irvine into 22 turnovers leading to 21 points for the Buffaloes, who have won all eight of their meetings with the Anteaters. It was the 17th win in Colorado’s last 19 home games.
Bey spearheaded Colorado’s defensive performance with six steals.
Collin Welp had 12 points to lead Irvine (3-2). Tommy Rutherford added 10 points.
With the Buffaloes leading 51-38, the Anteaters scored seven straight points capped by Eyassu Worku’s fastbreak jumper to pull to within six points with 9:14 left to play.