Sophomore guard Alec Burks (#10) keeps the ball away from Cowboys as senior guard Cory Higgins (#11) waits for a pass during the first half of the mens' basketball game versus Oklahoma State University on Jan. 15, 2011. The Buffs won 75-71. (CU Independent/Kelly Kaoudis)
Not every win can be pretty, but that doesn’t make it any less sweet.
The Colorado Buffaloes (14-4, 3-0 Big 12) beat the Oklahoma State Cowboys (13-4, 1-2 Big 12) in an edgy affair in front of the first sellout crowd of the season at the Coors Events Center.
Senior guard Cory Higgins led the Buffs with 23 points, shooting 5-of-9 from the floor, and a perfect 10-of-10 from the foul line. Sophomore Alec Burks scored 20 points, and was dominant on the boards, grabbing 11 rebounds and his first double-double this season.
Sophomore forward Jean-Paul Olukemi led the Cowboys with 21 points and four rebounds.
Colorado shot 37.5 percent from the field, while Oklahoma State shot 47.3 percent. Even with their struggles, the Buffs won the rebound battle 39-24.
“I thought that was a heck of Big 12 game,” said Tad Boyle, Colorado’s head coach. “Oklahoma State came in here with a great game plan, and really took it to us.”
The Buffs looked flat in the first half, shooting 25.9 percent from the floor. They allowed the Cowboys to shoot 41.7 percent, with five three-pointers.
Despite their poor shooting performance, the Buffs managed to stay in the game, trading leads with Oklahoma State 10 times.
At the intermission, the Cowboys led 38-34. Higgins was the top scorer with 14 points, and the only Buffs in double digits. Olukemi and junior guard Keiton Page led the Oklahoma State with 11 points each.
The players said they were disappointed with their defense in the first half of the game.
“We needed to start defending,” Higgins said. “They shot (about 42 percent) in the first half and that’s not good enough for us”
Oklahoma State lit up the Buffs defense at the start of the second half. Senior forward Marshall Moses was allowed to drive the lane multiple times, and pushed the Cowboys’ lead to 12. Just as it looked like the game was going to get out of hand, Higgins stepped up and scored five quick points to keep the Buffs deficit reasonable.
The Buffs stepped up on the defensive end as well, getting big stops to help their team. The Buffs took their first lead of the half at 5:57 when junior forward Austin Dufault scored on a reverse layup, capping off a 20-6 run, and the crowd went wild.
Team defense helped get the Buffs back in the game.
“We helped each other,” Burks said. “We forced [Moses] to take tough shots and he missed them, and we got the rebound and ran.”
The Buffs held on to their slim lead, hitting key free throws down the stretch. Two Oklahoma State players fouled out, including starting senior forward Matt Pilgrim, making the Cowboys’ task even harder. When senior guard Marcus Relphorde dunked in traffic with 1:22 left, CU’s victory was all but sealed.
The win showed another side to the Buffs.
“It was the first time we had to come back at home,” Higgins said. “We showed a lot of determination and grit. It was big for our team to show we can do that too.”
Colorado will head on the road and face Nebraska, a Big 12 opponent, on Jan. 18, and Oklahoma on Jan. 22. They will return to Boulder on Jan. 25 to face No. 3 Kansas.
Contact CU Independent Sports Editor Mark McNeillie at Mark.mcneillie@colorado.edu.
