Boulder – Once-in-a-lifetime feats shouldn’t come too easily.
If Colorado State was going to get out of town with its first victory in Boulder in 49 years and one week, the Buffs were determined the Rams would have to earn it.
After offering scant resistance while CSU took a 16-point lead with nearly 12 minutes left in the game, the Buffs had one furious rally left. CSU guard Tim Denson, in his first in-state rivalry game, hit the front end of two free-throw trips in the final 28 seconds to stave off CU 72-69.
“It’s was a fair amount of anxiety but I think our defense did really well,” said CSU center Jason Smith, who dominated the boards with 16 while leading the Rams with 15 points. “Oh definitely, 49 years is a long time. That’s amazing. That’s a long streak. It definitely makes it more special.”
The Rams heard all week that their coach, Dale Layer, wasn’t born the last time CSU defeated CU in Boulder on Dec. 2, 1957. For that matter, Ricardo Patton wasn’t around, either.
For 20-year-old college players, nearly half a century is a concept for the history books.
CSU stretched its winning streak to six games ahead of the break for final exams while CU dropped to 1-4 against the Mountain West Conference. CSU had a 15-point lead reduced to a single-point win at home against Kansas State last week and might want to check if any other Big 12 teams have an opening next week.
“I think it’s great. It’s going to help us down the road,” Layer said. “Neither team played a great game. I have to give our guys credit because they played with heart.”
Patton, in his final meeting against Layer, found something to build on when freshman Jeremy Williams and senior Dominique Coleman cut the double-digit gap to 69-62 with 2:06 left. CSU turned sloppy at the foul line and Buffs freshman guard Kal Bay sank a 3-pointer with 50 seconds left to close the gap to 70-65. Richard Roby scored twice around a Denson free throw to make it a two-point game.
After repeated efforts to force CSU to turn over the ball, Denson hit one of two foul shots with 18 seconds left and Roby missed, allowing CSU to run out the clock.
“I thought out guys did a great job of fighting the good fight,” Patton said. “There’s a lot of good things from our team, we can build on the last five minutes of the second half defensively. If we can build on that defensive intensity there will be a lot of good things for these guys.”
Watching most a 16-point margin disappear, CSU guard Cory Lewis, who led all players with seven assists, said “not really,” if he ever thought it was possible to lose. “We have big hearts. We weren’t going to let that happen. “You have to give us credit because they applied the pressure. They are a real good team.”
Although Roby finished with a game-leading 20 points, twice his output against the Rams a year ago, he needed all seven foul shots after connecting on just five of 15 from the floor.
CSU looked as if it would wait another half-century just to get its first basket.
“We were nervous to start the game,” Layer said. Stuart Creason gave CSU its first point with 14:39 left in the first half and also provided the Rams first lead with 8:01 left before halftime.
COLORADO ST. (7-2)
Jas. Smith 6-11 3-4 15, Creason 3-5 3-4 9, Lewis 5-10 3-5 13, T. Smith 2-9 2-3 7, Denson 2-7 2-4 6, Jar. Smith 1-2 0-0 2, A. Robinson 4-6 0-0 8, Gilling 4-6 0-0 12. Totals 27-56 13-20 72.
COLORADO (3-6)
Williams 2-9 3-3 8, Silas 2-9 0-0 5, Jackson-Wilson 4-7 2-2 10, Roby 5-15 7-7 20, Perkowski 0-0 0-0 0, Inge 1-1 1-2 3, Coleman 3-7 1-2 8, Thorne 0-1 2-2 2, King-Stockton 0-2 0-2 0, Kowal 1-2 0-0 2, Bay 3-7 2-3 11. Totals 21-60 18-23 69.
Halftime – Colorado State 43-34. 3-point goals – Colorado St. 5-12 (Gilling 4-5, T. Smith 1-3, Denson 0-1, Lewis 0-3), Colorado 9-21 (Bay 3-6, Roby 3-7, Coleman 1-2, Williams 1-2, Silas 1-4). Fouled out – None. Rebounds – Colorado St. 38 (Jas. Smith 16), Colorado 37 (Williams 8). Assists – Colorado St. 16 (Lewis 7), Colorado 13 (Roby 4). Total fouls – Colorado St. 21, Colorado 22. A – 4,309.
Natalie Meisler can be reached at 303-954-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com.
