As far as trends go, losing tight games against big name opponents is definitely one the Colorado Buffaloes would like to buck.
Junior guard Calvin Haynes scored 19 points off the bench and the Oregon State Beavers pulled out a tough home win over Colorado, 74-69, Friday night.
Freshman guard Alec Burks led the Buffaloes with 19 points, the second time he’s done such this season.
It wasn’t enough though as the Buffs blew a 67-64 lead with 2:35 remaining after junior forward Marcus Relphorde hit back-to-back 3-pointers to put Colorado on top. Haynes hit a jumper to put the Beavers up 70-69, and after sophomore guard Nate Tomlinson missed a pair of free throws, Oregon State iced the game with four points at the charity strike.
“We had a wide open look at a three and we had a couple free throws,” CU head coach Jeff Bzdelik said in a news release. ”We missed some timely opportunities to score and put some pressure on them.”
Junior guard Cory Higgins added 15 points in 39 minutes, and Burks also led the team with a career-high of nine rebounds, including six on the offensive end.
Colorado took a 36-31 lead into halftime, marking the second time this year they have lost after leading through the first 20 minutes.
Colorado falls to 5-3 on the year and 0-3 all-time in the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series.
Bzdelik was evidently disappointed and called out his team’s toughness during crunch time.
“This was a golden opportunity to come away with a win here on somebody else’s home court, but we didn’t do it,” Bzdelik said in a news release. “Until they wake up and get tougher, it’s not going to happen.”
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer David Starcer at david.starcer@colorado.edu.
