The Colorado men’s basketball team lost a fourth consecutive game for the first time in nearly five years.

Along the way, the Buffaloes lost a couple starters as well.

The Buffaloes dropped a 78-70 decision against No. 21 West Virginia on Sunday, as a second-half rally fell short for CU. The Buffs mounted that comeback without starters Elijah Malone and RJ Smith, both of whom didn’t play after halftime.

CU head coach Tad Boyle said Malone suffered a back injury while Smith, who didn’t return to the bench after the break, was sent for further medical testing after looking unwell on the Buffs’ bench.

Smith went 1-for-4, all on 3-pointers, before exiting following 16 minutes of action. It is particularly concerning for Smith following a blood clot issue in his lower leg last year that ended his season after seven games.

Malone missed his only shot attempt and recorded three assists, one rebound and a pair of turnovers in 9:40 of playing time.

“Elijah tweaked his back, so he was not able to play,” Boyle said. “I ask guys if they’re not 100%, they need to tell me. And he said his back was really hurting him, so he didn’t go. RJ was not himself tonight from the get-go. We took him out one time in the first half and he just had kind of a blank look on his face, so I think they’re doing some tests on him to see how he’s feeling. We’ll see where we’re at as the day progresses with RJ and (Monday).”

Streaking

CU guard Julian Hammond III scored a team-high 23 points, giving him 20-point outings in consecutive games for the first time in his career. It was the sixth 20-point game of Hammond’s career and the fifth this season, all of which have occurred over the past nine games.

Hammond went 3-for-7 on 3-pointers to reach 100 made 3-pointers in his career, and he also finished 8-for-8 at the free throw line to push his season free throw percentage to .935 (43-for-46). After watching a streak of 21 consecutive made free throws end during last week’s loss at Central Florida, Hammond has put together another run of 15 made free throws in a row.

However, Hammond went without an assist against West Virginia for the first time this season, leaving him in a holding pattern at two assists short of becoming the 30th CU player to reach 200 assists in his career.

Big boost

West Virginia received a somewhat unexpected boost from reserve guard Joseph Yesufu. The oft-traveled Yesufu, who played for West Virginia coach Darian DeVries at Drake before also spending time at Kansas and Washington State, had scored only 19 points in the previous five games combined but came off the bench to score a season-high 18 against the Buffs.

“We went to him a little bit,” DeVries said. “They were doing a nice job on Javon (Small) in the second half, so we wanted to put the ball in Joe’s hands a little bit more. He does have great speed and at that point in the game that’s what we needed. We needed somebody who could get downhill and be able get to the rim a little more.”

Notable

The matchup against Yesufu marked the fourth time this season CU graduate transfer Andrej Jakimovski has battled against one of his former Washington teammates. In addition to Yesufu, Jakimovski and the Buffs have also faced former Cougars players Dishon Jackson (Iowa State), Jefferson Koulibaly (Pacific) and Oscar Cluff (South Dakota State). … CU forward Assane Diop went 6-for-6 on free throws and is 13-for-14 at the line in the past two games. … CU guard Javon Ruffin matched a career-high with seven rebounds. … The Buffs’ 13 assists marked their lowest total since posting 12 assists in a win against UConn on Nov. 26.