Boulder – It was Colorado’s “Senior Night” on Saturday at the Coors Events Center.
Was it ever.
CU’s seniors became heroes in the 84-82 victory over Iowa State, just as every upperclassman dreams about.
“I just wanted to do what I could do to help the team,” said CU’s Julius Ashby, a 6-foot-9 senior center who swatted away a 15-foot shot by 6-11 Jiri Hubalek with one second remaining to keep alive CU’s hopes for an NCAA Tournament bid.
Two ticks earlier, CU sophomore Richard Roby blocked a jumper by forward Rahshon Clark. The ball bounced out to Hubalek, whose shot was rejected by Ashby.
“I don’t think I’ve had a bigger block,” said Roby, who scored 24 points to tie Iowa State’s Curtis Stinson for game-high honors. “And Julius and the seniors came through.”
With the victory, Colorado (19-8, 9-7 Big 12) clinched the fifth seed in this week’s Big 12 Tournament in Dallas. The Buffs will play Baylor or Missouri at 1 p.m. Thursday in a first-round game. A victory in that game would pit the Buffs against Texas A&M in the quarterfinals Friday.
“We all knew we needed to win,” Ashby said. “I just wanted to contest (Hubalek) and not let him have an open shot.”
Hubalek, who played a year of junior college basketball with Ashby in Iowa, turned around after getting the ball and never saw his former teammate.
“When it’s in the last two seconds, I should have anticipated that somebody would be there,” Hubalek said.
CU may have to win at least two games in Dallas to get NCAA Tournament selectors interested. But first things first. This was the first hurdle.
With the Cyclones’ lightning-quick guard duo of juniors Stinson and Will Blalock proving tough to handle, Iowa State rallied from an 18-point deficit early in the second half. A 27-5 run helped put the Cyclones up by as many as four points in the second half.
Then CU’s seniors went to work.
Buffs walk-on Scott Senger, a 6-7 senior forward, put Colorado up 63-61 with 5:38 remaining on a layup after taking a feed from Roby. CU never relinquished that lead, but Iowa State seemed to always be just a shot away.
Colorado maintained its lead thanks in large part to senior swingman Glean Eddy. He converted 5-of-6 free throws in the final 15.4 seconds, including 1-of-2 with 4.7 seconds left that gave Colorado an 84-82 lead.
After Eddy finally missed, Iowa State, which had hit its previous two 3-pointers, rushed the ball down the court and got it to Clark on the wing.
But Roby batted away Clark’s jumper. Then Ashby did the same on Hubalek’s attempt.
“We have new life,” Roby said.
Colorado appeared on the verge of blowing out the Cyclones (16-13, 6-10) early in the second half. Two free throws by Jayson Obazuaye put the Buffs up 48-30 with 19:40 to go.
But CU got sloppy, committed turnovers on its next three possessions and helped Iowa State battle back with a 15-2 run, which inflated to 27-5, and it became Colorado’s turn to battle back.
Colorado tied a school single-season record with its 13th home victory. Only Kansas was able to beat the Buffs at the Coors Events Center.
IOWA STATE (16-13, 6-10 BIG 12)
Taggart 1-3 3-5 5, Davis 0-2 1-2 1, Marsden 0-0 0-0 0, Stinson 8-17 4-5 24, Blalock 7-22 2-2 17, Clark 5-8 2-6 16, Gray 1-3 0-0 2, Hubalek 5-10 3-3 14, Neal 1-9 0-0 3. Totals 28-74 15-23 82.
COLORADO (19-8, 9-7 BIG 12)
Eddy 2-4 8-9 12, Senger 3-5 2-2 8, Arrington 0-0 0-2 0, Boidock 0-0 0-0 0, McGee 0-2 0-1 0, Osborn 1-3 0-0 2, Obazuaye 1-2 2-2 4, Coleman 1-5 0-0 3, Freeman 1-5 0-0 2, Copeland 6-12 3-4 18, Hall 2-6 0-0 4, Roby 7-18 9-9 24, Williams 0-1 0-0 0, King-Stockton 2-3 0-0 4, Ashby 1-2 1-2 3. Totals 27-68 25-31 84.
Halftime – Colorado 46-30. 3-point goals – Iowa St. 11-30 (Clark 4-5, Stinson 4-6, Hubalek 1-4, Blalock 1-5, Neal 1-9, Davis 0-1), Colorado 5-20 (Copeland 3-7, Coleman 1-1, Roby 1-6, Eddy 0-1, Freeman 0-1, Osborn 0-2, Hall 0-2). Fouled out – None. Rebounds – Iowa St. 46 (Hubalek 12), Colorado 49 (Copeland 9). Assists – Iowa St. 17 (Blalock 7), Colorado 19 (Roby 5). Total fouls – Iowa St. 21, Colorado 24. A – 10,102.
Tom Kensler can be reached at 303-820-5456 or tkensler@denverpost.com.
