Colorado delivers commanding win over Bellarmine

Assane Diop scored a career-high 15 points, RJ Smith tied his career best with 11 points, and the Colorado Buffaloes beat the Bellarmine Knights 79-55 in Boulder, Colo., on Saturday.

Julian Hammond III contributed 10 points for Colorado (9-2). The Buffaloes have won four straight and will open Big 12 play against No. 3 Iowa State on Dec. 30.

Dezmond McKinney had 12 points, the only player to score in double figures for Bellarmine (3-10) in its third straight loss and fifth in its last six games.

The game was tight early, with the Knights leading 6-4 on a layup by Billy Smith with 17:01 left in the first half, but Colorado dominated the rest of the period.

Hammond's three-point play started a 10-1 run that gave the Buffaloes the lead for good. After Landin Hacker hit a 3-pointer for Bellarmine that made it 14-10, the Knights went cold from the field for nearly eight minutes.

Colorado took advantage of the drought. Diop scored five quick points and RJ Smith hit a 3-pointer to extend the Buffaloes' lead to 24-10 with 7:25 left.

Elijah Malone had a tip-in and Diop another layup to make it a 19-point game before McKinney's two free throws gave Bellarmine its first points in more than seven minutes.

Hammond responded with a 3-pointer and two foul shots and McKinney's layup -- the Knights' first basket in nearly eight minutes -- briefly stopped Colorado's surge. The Buffaloes closed the half on an 11-2 run capped by another 3-pointer from RJ Smith to lead 45-16 at intermission.

Kenyon Goodin opened the second half with a 3-pointer for the Knights but Colorado quickly stretched its advantage.

Andrej Jakimovski and RJ Smith hit layups, RJ Smith drained a 3-pointer and Diop hit another layup to give the Buffaloes a 53-21 lead. Two Colorado dunks made it a 37-point lead with 13:55 left.

AJ Lux and Hacker made back-to-back 3-pointers to get Bellarmine's deficit below 30 but the Buffaloes were never threatened in the second half.

--Field Level Media