Columbia, Mo. – Scratching his head and wondering how he could inspire his struggling basketball team, Colorado coach Ricardo Patton turned on the television Saturday afternoon and had a gift drop into his lap. Kansas State, another team facing long odds on the road, snapped a 31-game losing streak to Kansas.
Patton couldn’t wait to dare his players to match it.
“Kansas State’s win was special, and I asked the guys, ‘When are we going to do something special?”‘ Patton said of his pregame speech.
His players must have listened. Chris Copeland buried a 3-pointer with two-tenths of a second remaining to give the Buffaloes a 74-71 victory, only the second win by a CU team in Columbia in its past 35 tries.
“Wow,” Copeland said. “We really needed that.”
Copeland finished the job, but others came up big down the stretch for a CU squad (11-3, 1-2 Big 12) that failed to compete in second halves against Texas and Kansas.
Sophomore guard Richard Roby, feeling it from every spot on the court, sank six 3-pointers and finished with a career-best 33 points.
And point guard Dominique Coleman, a junior college transfer who had been a season-long disappointment, came through with what may have been his breakout game. Coleman scored 11 points, handed out six assists and gave CU a chance when his 3-pointer tied the game at 71-71 with 39.1 seconds to go.
Roby carried the Buffs for much of the game but thought he might have lost it when his finger-roll scoop shot from the baseline rolled off the rim with 1:24 to go. CU forgot about Missouri’s Kevin Young at the other end and a layup by the 6-foot-9, 270-pounder provided the hosts with a three-point lead with 1:06 remaining.
Coleman responded with his 3-pointer, and Missouri called a timeout with 30.8 seconds left.
After his team recovered a loose ball with 8.9 seconds left, Missouri coach Quin Snyder called another timeout to set up a play. But after taking an inbounds pass, Tigers junior guard Thomas Gardner slipped and was called for traveling.
CU senior Andy Osborn got the ball to Coleman, who started to drive but instead flipped a pass to Copeland. Standing beyond the arc, the 6-8 senior was wide open along the right wing.
A Mizzou Arena crowd of 10,684, and no doubt everybody on both benches held their breath.
Swish.
“For me to make that last shot in a pressure situation, it’s the best feeling in the world,” Copeland said.
Missouri (9-5, 2-1) immediately called for a timeout, but only two-tenths of a second remained. A length-of-the-court shot bounded off the backboard.
“We needed a win bad,” said Roby, whose previous career best had been a 30-point effort last season against Kansas State. “I felt like our guys were down. People said we had played a weak nonconference (schedule). You can’t help but hear that and buy into it a little bit.
“But Coach told us about what Kansas State did. We wanted to do something like that.”
COLORADO (11-3, 1-2 Big 12)
Freeman 1-2 2-2 4, Copeland 6-12 0-1 15, Ashby 0-1 0-0 0, Roby 11-24 5-6 33, McGee 0-1 0-0 0, Eddy 0-1 0-1 0, Osborn 3-6 0-0 8, Obazuaye 1-2 1-2 3, Coleman 4-6 1-1 11, Hall 0-3 0-0 0, Arrington 0-1 0-0 0, King-Stockton 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 26-61 9-13 74.
MISSOURI (9-5, 2-1)
Brown 3-9 4-5 10, Watkins 0-0 0-0 0, Young 1-3 2-4 4, McKinney 7-11 8-10 22, Gardner 7-14 5-6 22, Lyons 0-0 0-0 0, Horton 1-3 0-0 3, Dandridge 3-4 1-2 8, Lawrence 0-0 0-0 0, Grimes 0-0 2-4 2. Totals 22-44 22-31 71.
Halftime – Missouri 35-30. 3-point goals – Colorado 13-29 (Roby 6-11, Copeland 3-6, Coleman 2-3, Osborn 2-5, McGee 0-1, Hall 0-3), Missouri 5-16 (Gardner 3-9, Dandridge 1-2, Horton 1-3, McKinney 0-1, Brown 0-1). Fouled out – None. Rebounds – Colorado 31 (Ashby 5), Missouri 30 (Dandridge 7). Assists – Colorado 18 (Coleman 6), Missouri 12 (McKinney 6). Total fouls – Colorado 22, Missouri 19. A – 10,684.
Staff writer Tom Kensler can be reached at 303-820-5456 or tkensler@denverpost.com.
