Andrej Jakimovski’s hot second half lifts Colorado over TCU

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Andrej Jakimovski scored 16 of his game-high 18 points in the second half to lift No. 16 seed Colorado to a 69-67 victory over TCU in the first round of the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City, Mo.The Buffaloes will face eighth-seeded West Virginia in the second round Wednesday.The Buffaloes (13-19) also got 16 points from Julian Hammond III.No. 9 seed TCU (16-16) was led by Noah Reynolds, who scored all 17 of his points after halftime. Trazarien White added 13.Colorado, which closed the regular season with an emphatic 76-56 victory over TCU, proved that it was not a fluke.The Buffaloes stormed out of the gate to start the second half, using a 13-1 run to open up a 39-28 lead at the first media timeout. They maintained the lead the rest of the game, though TCU got it close.TCU used a 7-0 run to turn a 13-point deficit into a 63-57 score. But Vasean Allette missed two free throws for TCU, and after a defensive stop, Reynolds hit a corner 3-pointer to make it 63-60 with 1:39 left.Bangot Dak got an open dunk to stretch it to 65-60, but Jace Posey hit a 3-pointer with 59 seconds left. Hammond hit two free throws to make it 67-63. Reynolds’ layup cut it to two again,

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