The lead was 52-49 when a contested Colorado shot to beat the shot clock fell well short of the rim. But Colorado’s 6-foot-11, 265 pound Eddie Lampkin carved out space under the rim. He grabbed the air ball and dropped it over the rim just ahead of the shot-clock buzzer with 32 seconds left.
“That offensive rebound was the play of the game,” Colorado coach Tad Boyle said. “Because to go from a one-possession game to a two-possession game mentally is really, really positive for the team that does that.”
The five-point lead allowed the Buffaloes to put the game away at the free-throw line.
Colorado advances to face No. 7 Florida on Friday in Indianapolis.
Da Silva’s 20 points and Simpson’s 19 lead Colorado and Lampkin added 13. Simpson, the Buffaloes’ point guard, grabbed 11 rebounds.
“Tonight you just had to ride those guys as much as we can,” Boyle said.
Chibuzo Agbo led Boise State (22-11) with 17 points, and O’Mar Stanley had 11 rebounds.
The Broncos had a rough shooting night, making only 34.3% of their shots and only 2 of 18 3-pointers. Agbo made only 1 of 6 three-point attempts and Max Rice, head coach Leon Rice’s son, missed all of five his attempts. Rice was held to two points and leading scorer Tyson Degenhart scored six.
“None us want it to end because you don’t get a group of special people together like this very often,” Leon Rice said. “Max has done some great things, but to go out 1-for-9, that’s going to eat at him the rest of his life.”
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