College Station, Texas – Anger clenched the jaw of Colorado coach Ricardo Patton so tightly he struggled to get the words out.
Playing on the road in the Big 12 Conference isn’t much fun anyway. But in a frustrating 61-58 loss to Texas A&M on Wednesday night, Colorado was short-handed and, as Patton suggested, outnumbered.
Short-handed in that three CU players (including regular starter Martane Freeman) were left home and outnumbered because, well, the officials certainly didn’t do the Buffaloes any favors down the stretch.
“Anytime you feel an injustice has been done, it’s tough to shake off,” Patton said.
Ranked No. 25 in the USA Today-ESPN coaches poll, Colorado (15-5, 5-4) could have bagged its third conference road victory if star sophomore Richard Roby hadn’t been called for carrying the ball with 21.7 seconds remaining. That prevented Roby from a probable breakaway dunk that would have given the Buffs a four-point lead.
Roby scrambled to a loose ball after a miss by Texas A&M’s Acie Law and slapped it to himself. He grabbed it and began to dribble when the whistle blew.
A 12-footer in the lane by Aggies guard Dominique Kirk gave the hosts a 59-58 lead with 8.2 seconds left. After a CU timeout and a couple of passes got the ball downcourt, Roby drove to the basket and went up for his signature shot, a hanging one- hander. The whistle blew, but officials ruled he was fouled before the shot. Roby could have won the game by making two free throws with 1.6 seconds left. But his first attempt of the one-and-one rimmed out.
CU fouled immediately. Martellus Bennett, a tight end on the Texas A&M football team, made two free throws. A half-court 3-pointer at the buzzer by Marcus Hall fell short.
Patton said he will send tape to the Big 12 office showing the two controversial calls. Roby, who scored a game-high 22 points, said he couldn’t have carried the ball because he hadn’t begun his dribble.
“I just knocked it over the guy’s head,” Roby said. “I couldn’t believe the call.”
When asked if Roby was in the act of shooting as he was fouled, the CU coach said: “Coaches aren’t supposed to talk about officiating. But some strange things happened.”
A crowd of 6,876 at Reed Arena watched Texas A&M (14-7, 4-6) snap a two-game losing streak. The Aggies, led by Law’s 19 points, maintained their composure. They trailed by as many as 10 points in the second half.
The Aggies limited Roby to two points in the last 15 minutes and helped force Colorado into a season-worst 24 turnovers.
“I have never seen our guys play tougher physically,” Aggies coach Billy Gillispie said.
CU left Freeman at home for what Patton called “conduct detrimental to the team.” Reserve guard Dominique Coleman (bruised heel) and freshman forward Calvin Williams (to concentrate on his studies) also were not on the trip.
Patton said their absence did not affect the game’s outcome.
“Our guys fought really hard, and well enough to win the game,” Patton said.
And just good enough to lose.
COLORADO (15-5)
Osborn 3-9 0-0 9, Copeland 1-3 0-0 3, Hall 5-9 3-4 16, Roby 7-16 4-8 22, Eddy 2-2 0-0 5, Obazuaye 1-2 1-2 3, Arrington 0-2 0-0 0, King-Stockton 0-1 0-0 0, McGee 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-45 8-14 58.
TEXAS A&M (14-7)
Law 7-17 4-5 19, Walker 3-5 2-2 11, Kirk 3-5 2-3 10, Jones 2-4 4-6 8, Pompey 2-3 2-2 6, Bennett 0-0 4-4 4, White 0-4 0-0 0, Carter 1-3 0-0 3, Kavaliauskas 0-2 0-1 0. Totals 18-43 18-23 61.
Halftime – CU 26-25. 3-point goals – CU 12-22 (Roby 4-5, Hall 3-5, Osborn 3-8, Eddy 1-1, Copeland 1-3), Texas A&M 7-19 (Walker 3-5, Kirk 2-4, Law 1-3, Carter 1-3, White 0-4). Fouled out – Kirk. Rebounds – CU 32 (Eddy, Roby 7), Texas A&M 25 (Kirk 8). Assists – CU 14 (Eddy, Hall, McGee 3), Texas A&M 15 (Pompey 6). Total fouls – CU 23, Texas A&M 17. A – 6,876.
Staff writer Tom Kensler can be reached at 303-820-5456 or tkensler@denverpost.com.
