McKinley Wright reaches 600 career assists as Colorado beats Washington State 70-58

BOULDER — Another game, another milestone for the Buffs’ star senior guard.

Wednesday night, McKinley Wright IV extended his career assist record by reaching the 600 milestones. His 16 points – including 11-11 from the charity stripe – paired well with his two rebounds and seven assists as the Colorado Buffaloes took down the Washington State Cougars once again, 70-58.

Wednesday night, fans were given the 3-point barrage they have been desperately waiting for. The Buffs were on a terrible cold-streak but heated up from the arc with 10-17.

The storylines were two-fold: the Buffs offensive efficiency in the first half, and its sloppiness in the second. 

Still, the Buffs complete the back-to-back against WSU and move to 13-4 on the season, 7-3 in conference play.

Here are a few key takeaways from the victory.

Battey and Horne anchor the offense

Let’s start with Boulder’s favorite player, Evan Battey.

The Colorado big man had 14 points, five rebounds, and two assists, including 50% from the floor and 6-6 from the free-throw line. His rebounding, though the stats may not fully reflect it, was ferocious. This included a key offensive rebound off a missed free throw, ripping the ball from the defender and drawing a foul on his shot attempt.

Battey only registered one personal foul on the night.

With Battey manning the middle, Jeriah Horne was able to stretch the defense. He had 15 points and five rebounds himself, including an impressive 3-5 from deep.

Back in the sixth man role with Dallas Walton healthy and starting, Horne is still earning 25+ minutes a night. His case for Pac-12 Sixth Man of the Year should be a closed book.

Still, it would be a tragedy to not mention Jabari Walker in this frontcourt award show.

In just ten minutes, he scored seven points and three rebounds. Not only that, but he was athletic and aggressive on defense, earning two blocks as well as a few pass deflections.

Dallas Walton is starting but only played 14 minutes tonight. He has yet to play more than 19 minutes in a game all season, but tonight he did manage four points and two rebounds.

While Walker has shown flashes and shown he belongs on the court more, Tad Boyle has been hesitant to adjust the rotation too much.

With the team playing as well as it has since the calendar year began, it’s hard to blame him.

Wright the only factor in the backcourt

As previously noted, McKinley Wright had another great game.

While he was only 2-7 from the floor, he continued to draw late fouls that allowed the Buffs to put away the Cougars. As he always does, Wright found what his team needed from him to win the game.

As for his supporting cast in the backcourt, it was a relatively quiet night.

Eli Parquet was a lockdown defender again but made just one shot. The same can be said for Maddox Daniels and Keeshawn Barthelemy, except their makes were from deep.

D’Shawn Schwartz also played well, yet finished with just two makes behind the arc for six points. 

So, what is the takeaway?

Tonight, Colorado did not need a lights-out shooting performance from Daniels or a double-double from Schwartz to get the win. Instead, everyone played well within their roles and the Buffs finished with a 12-point victory.

Yes, the second-half got a bit sloppy at times.

But in college hoops, a win is truly all that matters.

What’s next?

Colorado will face Utah for the second time this season on Saturday. The Utes are 6-7 on the year and sitting at 8th in the conference.

The tip-off moved since its original announcement and is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. MST on Pac-12 Network.