BOULDER – Josh Scott put the damn team on his back. There’s no other way to put it. The senior big man laced ’em up for the second to last time in the Coors Events Center and put together what may go down as his best performance in the Black & Gold. It was the 26 points, it was the nine rebounds, it was a crunch-time charge, it was and-one that set the stadium into a frenzy, it was a late swat of Allonzo Trier, it was a big-time, clutch, all-American performance that led the Colorado Buffaloes to an absolutely massive 75-72 win over the No. 9 Arizona Wildcats.

“He did that on an ankle that’s not 100-percent,” head coach Tad Boyle said after the game. “What this kid is showing down the stretch of his senior year is incredible. . . That was an unbelievable performance.”

“I wanted to play aggressively,” Scott said. “I was feeling my Wheaties a little bit after I got that and-one. It kind of propelled me on through the second half.”

Perhaps the most complimentary of the Buffaloes star, who was named SportsCenter’s “Star of the Night,” was Arizona head coach Sean Miller.

“I’m a big fan of Josh Scott,” he said. “I watched him a year ago as a junior, he played most of the season injured and did the best he could. He’s healthy now and you can really tell. You want to see somebody like him, whose one of the best players in our conference down the home stretch of his senior year, play his heart out. You look at his numbers tonight and he dominated the game and he did it against a very good front line of our own.”

Dominate he did.

Despite the other-worldly performance from the senior, which included a stretch where he scored 10 points in six possessions, it still wasn’t easy for the Buffaloes. No, not against a top 10 team in the country. The Wildcat’s clawed and clawed despite a truly inspired effort from the Buffs on the defensive end.

Colorado held a 10 point lead with three and a half minutes left but as tradition would have it, the Buffs had to make it interesting. Arizona went on a prompt 7-0 run over the next 2:20 to make it a three-point game with just under a minute left.

With a the clock ticking under 30 seconds, Gabe York sized up Wesley Gordon, looking to fire off a game-tying three. In an attempt to shake the defensive stopper, York lost the handle on the ball, giving the Buffs a chance to seal the victory with a clean inbound and some free throws.

They got the clean pass into Scott but as he tried to dribble out of a triple-team the hero made maybe his only mistake of the night, he traveled, giving Arizona new life.

With eight seconds left, the Cats inbounded the ball and got it into the hands of their star Allonzo Trier, as the clocked ticked towards zeroes he launched a shot over the out-stretched arm of George King. Off the rim, off the backboard and into the hands of Dominique Collier. Victory. Pandemonium.

The win catapults the Buffs to 20-9 on the season and may just be the signature win they needed to polish off their NCAA tournament resume.

HIGHLIGHTS

Here's the best player in the building tonight. @J40Scott leads the Buffs to a 75-72 win over Arizona. #GoBuffshttps://t.co/w9arUhgAFT

— Colorado Buffaloes (@CUBuffs) February 25, 2016

Your play of the game. King George steal and SLAM. #GoBuffs https://t.co/MUt6zpMvaR

— Colorado Buffaloes (@CUBuffs) February 25, 2016

Fortune drains a 3, putting @cubuffsmbb up 59-48! Tune in now on ESPN2, you don't want to miss this! #GoBuffs https://t.co/oLaRek8C7I

— Colorado Buffaloes (@CUBuffs) February 25, 2016

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Josh Scott. Josh Scott. Josh Scott.

Have you heard? He put the damn team on his back. There’s really not much more we can say about his performance. He was a beast, he was an animan, he was a man possessed. He was everything his team needed him to be in the biggest game of the year and it was impressive.

26 points, nine rebounds, three blocks and one performance that won’t be forgotten around here for a long time.

QUOTE OF THE GAME

J40: I was so tired of losing to them.

— RK (@RyanKoenigsberg) February 25, 2016

BY THE NUMBERS

5 – The win gives Tad Boyle his fifth 20-win season in his six years at Colorado.

26 – Josh Scott’s 26 points were a season-high

34 – Colorado led the game for more than 34 minutes on the night.

400 – The number of victories Colorado now has in the Coors Events Center.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Colorado welcomes in the Sun Devils of Arizona State on Sunday at 2:30 PM. A win would erase any doubt about their tourney chances.

(Editor’s note, I just don’t want this to be overlooked)

Really could have made a huge difference if the Buffs lost Wes for the rest of the half.

— RK (@RyanKoenigsberg) February 25, 2016