Bronny James plays 25 minutes in 1st start; USC loses to Colorado

BOULDER, Colo. -- J'Vonne Hadley led a balanced attack with 15 points and Colorado held USC to 21 points in the second half as the Buffaloes defeated the short-handed Trojans 68-58 on Saturday night in freshman Bronny James' first start.

James was a nonfactor as USC raced to a 37-24 halftime lead. His struggles continued in the second half when Hadley had 10 points and Colorado took over. James finished 0-for-7 shooting, with three shots coming from 3-point range. He added two rebounds and an assist in 25 minutes.

Cody Williams scored 13 points for the Buffaloes (12-5, 3-3 Pac-12), who ended a three-game losing streak. Tristan da Silva andEddie Lampkin Jr.both scored 12.

Colorado improved to 10-0 at home and got its 500th victory in the CU Events Center.

Oziyah Sellers had a career-high 18 points for the Trojans (8-9, 2-4), and Kobe Johnson, DJ Rodman and Vincent Iwuchukwu all scored 10.

USC was without Boogie Ellis, Isaiah Collier and Joshua Morgan. Ellis (18.7 PPG) strained a hamstring a week earlier but played in the Trojans' previous game. That's when Collier (15.4 PPG) suffered a hand injury that will keep him out four to six weeks. Morgan (69% shooting) missed his second game with a respiratory infection.

Colorado was up 59-55 with three minutes to go when Williams scored in the lane. Simpson drilled a key 3-pointer with 1:13 to go and Lampkin had a monster dunk at 48 seconds, when USC coach Andy Enfield picked up a technical. Williams made a free throw to finish the clinching 9-0 run.

Colorado went 5-of-15 over the last seven-plus minutes and still finished at 56% shooting in the second half (18-of-32). The Trojans were 7-for-29 (24%) in the second half with 10 turnovers.

Sellers matched his career high in the first half with 16 points. Colorado, a team that shoots just a fraction over 50%, was 9-of-29 (31%) in the first 20 minutes.

Sellers had four points to start a 12-0 run that was capped by Johnson's three-point play for a 27-11 lead at the 8:42 mark.

The Buffaloes had a late 9-3 surge to get within 10, but Sellers came up with five points just before halftime.

Colorado scored six quick points out of halftime and turned that into a 12-2 surge, closing within 39-36 on a layup by Da Silva. The Buffaloes tied the game on a fast-break layup by Julian Hammond III, and after Kijani Wright scored for USC, Luke O'Brien put Colorado up 46-45 with a 3-pointer, the Buffaloes' first lead since 9-8.

Colorado stays home to face the Oregon schools, starting with the Ducks on Thursday. USC goes on its Arizona swing, starting with the No. 8 Wildcats on Wednesday.