Boulder – The good news for Colorado basketball fans Saturday night was watching the Buffaloes pull to within a half-game of first place in the Big 12 Conference standings with a 79-75 victory over Kansas State.
The best news was hearing afterward that apparently lower back spasms knocked CU guard Marcus Hall to the floor, rather than a more serious medical condition.
A lively Coors Events Center crowd of 8,074 sat still while Hall was taken off the court on a stretcher with 2:02 remaining in the game.
Away from the ball and nobody within 10 feet of the junior, Hall dropped backward just as a layup by Chris Copeland gave the Buffs a 75-68 lead.
After his neck was immobilized and he was strapped down, Hall raised a fist to indicate he was OK. The crowd, the second-largest for a CU home game this season, reacted by chanting, “Win for Marcus! Win for Marcus!”
Colorado coach Ricardo Patton made a similar plea to the Buffs, after telling them to pray for Hall.
“If you can’t fight for a fallen comrade, you’re in the wrong business,” Patton said. “He had back spasms all day long, and we’re hoping that it isn’t anything big.”
Hall was taken to a Boulder hospital for observation. CU sophomore guard Richard Roby said the team vowed to make sure Hall wouldn’t feel worse by hearing his team lost.
“Things happen during a season; you just have to keep fighting,” said Roby, who was limited to 18 points by a Kansas State defense that Patton calls the Big 12’s best. “We hope he can come back soon. We’re going to need him.”
Colorado (15-3, 5-2 Big 12) doesn’t play again until next Sunday at Iowa State. The Buffs’ five-game conference winning streak is the program’s longest regular season streak since 1996-97, when a Chauncey Billups-led team opened league play with six straight wins.
Colorado didn’t make a field goal after Hall went out. But four free throws in eight attempts were enough. CU players received instruction Thursday on shooting free throws from Mike Newlin, who hit 87 percent from the line during an 11-year NBA career that ended in 1982.
CU showed an overall improvement, with 70 percent for the game. But two misses by Martane Freeman with 24.9 seconds remaining gave Kansas State (12-5, 3-3) hope and the ball, trailing 78-73.
Lance Harris scored on a drive with 12 seconds left to complete a 23-point scoring night and CU’s Roby was fouled immediately after getting the inbound pass. Roby clinched the victory by making 1-of-2 from the line to provide a four-point cushion with 10.5 seconds remaining.
CU’s biggest shots were Roby’s easiest. He dropped in a pair of backdoor layups on feeds by Copeland. The second put the Buffs up 73-68 with 2:47 to go and left K-State coach Jim Wooldridge furious.
“We gave up a lot of points not knowing who we were guarding,” Wooldridge said.
KANSAS STATE (12-5, 3-3 BIG 12)
Martin 7-15 5-7 24, Diarra 3-4 1-3 7, Stewart 0-5 2-2 2, Hoskins 3-7 3-4 10, Wright 1-7 1-1 3, Thomas 0-0 0-0 0, Harris 10-12 0-0 23, Allen 1-4 0-0 2, Afeli 0-2 1-2 1, Taybron 1-1 0-0 2, Hughes 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 26-58 14-21 75.
COLORADO (15-3, 5-2 BIG 12)
Freeman 3-9 5-7 12, Copeland 6-12 2-2 17, Ashby 1-4 2-2 4, Hall 4-9 2-4 12, Roby 7-12 3-4 18, Eddy 0-3 0-0 0, Osborn 1-5 1-2 4, Obazuaye 0-0 2-2 2, Coleman 2-4 1-2 5, Arrington 1-2 0-0 2, King-Stockton 1-1 1-2 3. Totals 26-61 19-27 79.
Halftime – Tied 35-35. 3-point goals – Kansas State 9-17 (Martin 5-8, Harris 3-4, Hoskins 1-1, Allen 0-1, Stewart 0-3); Colorado 8-23 (Copeland 3-6, Hall 2-4, Freeman 1-4, Roby 1-4, Osborn 1-5). Fouled out – None. Rebounds – Kansas State 35 (Martin 9); Colorado 38 (Copeland 7, Freeman 7). Assists – Kansas State 18 (Stewart 8); Colorado 21 (Hall 7). Total fouls – Kansas State 24, Colorado 18. A – 8,074.
Tom Kensler can be reached at 303-820-5456 or tkensler@denverpost.com.
