Booker, No. 21 Colorado top Georgia

Boulder, CO (SportsNetwork.com) - Askia Booker led a balanced Colorado scoring attack with 19 points, as the 21st-ranked Buffaloes bested the Georgia Bulldogs, 84-70, on Saturday at Coors Event Center.

"He was very efficient and he took good shots. I thought he was terrific," Colorado head coach Tad Boyle said.

All five Colorado starters finished in double figures, with Spencer Dinwiddie supplying 17 points and Josh Scott posting a 14-point, 13-rebound double- double for the Buffaloes (11-2), who went a perfect 26-of-26 from the free throw line.

Xavier Johnson added 13 points and Wesley Gordon netted 10 points to help Colorado bounce back from a 78-73 setback against Oklahoma State on Dec. 21 that snapped the team's 10-game win streak.

Kenny Gaines and Nemanja Djurisic each scored 12 points to lead Georgia (6-5), which had won five straight games.

"This a great experience for us. We got beat by a better team, and we've got to learn from it," Georgia head coach Mark Fox said.

Georgia remained close in the early going and trailed by just three, 18-15, before Jaron Hopkins drilled a 3-pointer to spark a 10-3 Colorado run that Booker capped with a triple to make it 28-18 with 9:11 left in the half.

Booker capped a quick 8-0 sprint with consecutive buckets shortly after to push the spread to 16 and help Colorado carry a 46-35 lead into halftime.

Georgia's deficit remained in double-digits for the first half of the second stanza until Brandon Morris followed a Donte' Williams tip-in with a 3-pointer to bring the Bulldogs within 57-49 with 10:05 still to play.

However, Colorado countered with a 9-2 swing that Booker capped with a jumper to make it 66-51 with 8:17 left on the clock.

Georgia failed to get closer than 10 the rest of the way.

Game Notes

Colorado opens Pac-12 play against Oregon State on Jan. 2 ... Despite the setback, Georgia leads the all-time series, 6-3 ... Colorado won the rebounding battle, 34-22 ... Georgia went just 9-of-18 from the charity stripe.