Senior guard Cory Higgins goes up for a lay-up past Colorado State's Andy Ogide. The Buffaloes defeated the Rams 90-83 in overtime on Wednesday night. (CU Independent/Phil McMichael)
After losing last year in Fort Collins, Colorado beat the Colorado State Rams 90-83 in overtime Wednesday night. The Buffs improved to 5-3 while the Rams fell to 4-2.
“We beat a really good team tonight,” said Head Coach Tad Boyle. “I have all the respect in the world for coach Miles and the job he’s done, and the team we just beat. With that said, I’m really proud of our players and the way we gutted it out.”
Sophomore guard Alec Burks led both teams with 25 points, shooting 8-of-16 from the field and 9-10 from the foul line. Senior guard Marcus Relphorde had 18 points with four rebounds and three assists. Senior guard Cory Higgins had 15 points and four rebounds. As a team, the Buffs scored 48.1 percent of their field goals, and shot 85.4 percent from the foul line.
The Ram’s top scorer was senior forward Travis Franklin, who put up 19 points and was 5-of-5 on free throws. Senior forward Andy Ogide had 17 points and seven rebounds. The Rams shot 55.2 percent for the night.
The Buffs didn’t start the night well, falling behind 14-6 early. Coming out of the first time out, the Buffs seemed to come alive, and went on an 8-2 run to get back in the game. The drive was capped by junior guard Nate Tomlinson’s steal and break away to get Colorado back within two.
Colorado seemed to collapse defensively and allowed CSU several easy baskets to allow them to maintain the lead. A Tomlinson three pointer at the buzzer cut the lead to three, and the teams went to halftime with the score 33-30.
Burks scored 10 points in the first half and was 4-for-4 from the foul line. Tomlinson had eight points. Franklin led Colorado State with 8 points, shooting 4-of-5 from the field.
The second half saw the Buffs get out to a five point lead, and things looked to be comfortable. The Rams stepped up on the defensive end coming out of a time out, and with a one point Buffs lead the teams started trading baskets.
The Buffs managed to get a little bit of their defense back and grabbed a six point lead with 4:02 left. As the student section began trading jeers with the away fans, the Rams began to foul, hoping for some missed free throws and a chance to win. The usually reliable Higgins missed three clutch free throws and CSU made their lay ups. The game was tied 76-76 at the end of regulation.
Boyle said he would still want Higgins on the line if he had to do it again.
“I will take Cory at the line every day,” Boyle said. “I have a lot of confidence in all the guys from the free throw line; we are a good free throw-shooting team.
Before overtime, the Buffs had the same thing going through their heads.
“Just make free throws and get a stop, that is what was going through our heads,” Relphorde said. “We’ve been through a lot of close games through the years and when it comes down to the end you have to get free throws and stops.”
Overtime saw the teams trading baskets in the early going, but a missed free throw with :31 left gave the Buffs the advantage. From there, the Buffs hit their clutch free throws and Relphorde grabbed an important rebound off of Colorado State sophomore guard Wes Eikmeier’s missed a layup. The Buffs let the clock run out and Relphorde jammed the ball at the buzzer for good measure.
Relphorde said he was happy to get some revenge after the loss last year.
“Last year left a bad taste in our mouths,” he said. “It was a game we really wanted back, so I think we went into this game with a mindset that this was out turn.”
After a close game, the win can only help the team mentally.
“It’s a big confidence booster to take someone wire-to-wire in the game,” Burks said
The Buffs will take some time off for finals, and will take on the Citadel Dec. 17 at 7:30 p.m. in Boulder.
Contact CU Independent Sports Editor Mark McNeillie at Mark.mcneillie@colorado.edu.
