Boulder – Rather than celebrate his 3-pointer with 25 seconds remaining that beat Nebraska 73-69 on Saturday, Colorado freshman guard Kal Bay preferred to talk about a different side of CU coach Ricardo Patton, one that stunned the players.
During a timeout with 7:56 remaining in Patton’s final home game and Nebraska showing signs of making a run, Patton became emotional in the huddle. He lost his voice while pleading with the team to play for each other and for the love of the game.
A black belt in taekwondo, Patton is an avowed disciplinarian proud to preach “tough love.” Instead of giving his usual tongue lashing, this time Patton almost broke down.
“It was very emotional to the rest of us,” Bay recalled. “He definitely had tears. It got us pumped up. We wanted to go out there and not only win for us, but for him. We knew at that point that he really did care.”
With about a dozen of Patton’s former players invited to participate in a postgame tribute, Colorado (7-19, 3-13 Big 12) snapped a six-game losing streak and sent everybody home happy. Realizing that his contract would not be extended, Patton announced Oct. 25 that this, his 11th full season, would be his last.
“Winning a game like this is the way he should go out,” said Ronnie DeGray, a member of CU’s 1997 NCAA Tournament team.
Patton, the school’s second-winningest men’s basketball coach with a 184-159 record, said he tried to focus only on the game and not about this chapter in his career coming to an end. But all the hugs, handshakes and well-wishes made that difficult.
“I heard we won the game,” Patton joked afterward. “That was my concern coming in – that the game was not lost in the festivities.”
The Buffaloes got 23 points from junior guard Richard Roby (who had scored one point Jan. 20 at Nebraska), a double-double of 15 points and 15 rebounds from senior guard Dominique Coleman and the game’s biggest shot from Bay. As the No. 12 seed, CU will face fifth-seeded Texas Tech at 1 p.m. Thursday in the opening round of the Big 12 Tournament in Oklahoma City.
“We feel like we can (win) if we play the way we played today,” said Coleman, the only player on the roster honored on “Senior Day.”
Nebraska (16-13, 5-10) overcame a 10-point deficit in the second half and took a 68-67 lead with 1:35 left when senior guard Marcus Perry swished a 3-pointer from the left corner. But Coleman answered with a reverse layup. After a free throw by freshman guard Sek Henry pulled Nebraska even at 69-69 with 38 seconds remaining, Bay got a pass from Roby and was alone on the left wing.
“I was ready to shoot, I wanted to take it,” Bay said.
“It was certainly a huge shot for a freshman to knock down,” Patton said.
The only downer for CU was likely losing freshman swingman Xavier Silas for the Big 12 Tournament opener. Silas, CU’s second-leading scorer (12.0), and Nebraska freshman Ryan Anderson were ejected in the first half after Silas tried to steal the ball and both lost their cool after falling to the floor. Barring a successful appeal, an ejection for fighting carries an automatic one-game suspension under Big 12 rules.
NEBRASKA (16-13, 5-10 BIG 12)
Maric 6-11 10-14 22, Richardson 0-8 4-4 4, Perry 6-16 0-0 17, Strowbridge 1-2 0-0 3, Anderson 3-4 0-0 7, Henry 2-7 2-4 7, Marks 2-3 2-3 6, Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Velander 1-5 0-0 3, Balham 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-56 18-25 69.
COLORADO (7-19, 3-13)
Silas 3-4 0-0 7, Jackson-Wilson 4-6 3-4 11, King-Stockton 2-5 0-0 4, Coleman 6-12 3-4 15, Roby 7-14 7-9 23, Williams 0-2 4-6 4, Thorne 0-0 0-0 0, Van Burck 0-2 0-0 0, Kowal 0-1 0-0 0, Bay 2-7 4-4 9. Totals 24-53 21-27 73.
Halftime – NU 35-31. 3-point goals – NU 9-29 (Perry 5-14, Anderson 1-1, Strowbridge 1-1, Velander 1-4, Henry 1-5, Richardson 0-4), CU 4-16 (Roby 2-5, Silas 1-1, Bay 1-5, Williams 0-1, Coleman 0-4). Fouled out – King-Stockton. Rebounds – NU 34 (Maric 12), CU 39 (Coleman 15). Assists – NU 15 (Richardson 8), CU 16 (Coleman, Roby 5). Total fouls – NU 24, CU 23. A – 3,506.
Patton’s road in Boulder
Ups and downs of Ricardo Patton’s 11 seasons, in chronological order:
HIGHS
Jan. 11, 1997 – Early in the inaugural Big 12 Conference season, Patton’s first full season, Colorado defeats No. 20 Texas Tech 80-78 in Lubbock, marking CU’s first road win over a ranked opponent in 24 years.
1996-97 season – Led by point guard Chauncey Billups, a Basketball Times first-team All-American and subsequent No. 3 overall selection in the 1997 NBA draft, CU (22-10) notches 20 victories for only the second time in the program’s history. In the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 1968-69 season, the Buffs trounce Bob Knight-coached Indiana 80-62 in the first round before falling 73-56 to North Carolina two days later.
April 2001 – CU signs national top-15 recruit David Harrison to a letter of intent.
2002-03 season – Colorado reaches the NCAA Tournament and 20 victories, finishing 8-0 at home in league play for the first time. CU’s average of 8,995 fans per conference home game ranks as the best in 20 years.
Jan. 21, 2006 – Getting 27 points from Richard Roby, Colorado wins 80-78 in overtime at Oklahoma State – the first win by a Buffs team in Stillwater since 1980. A week earlier, CU won at Missouri for the second time in its past 32 tries.
Jan. 30-Feb. 12, 2006 – CU is nationally ranked for the first time since the 1996-97 season.
LOWS
1999-2000 to 2001-02 seasons – Seven CU players leave the program in a three-year stretch, including centers Richard Fox and Carlton Carter, swingman Kyle Williams and point guard Jose Winston.
2003-04 season – Colorado fails to earn an NCAA Tournament bid in junior center David Harrison’s final season before declaring for the NBA draft.
2005-06 season – Buffs begin the season 15-3 and appear to have an NCAA Tournament bid in their grasp with an 84-75 home win over Oklahoma on Feb. 15. But CU loses its last three regular-season road games by an average of 16.3 points and fails to get its name called on Selection Sunday.
March 15, 2006 – CU shows little fight in its NIT first-round game against Old Dominion in Boulder. The Buffs lose 79-61.
Feb. 14, 2007 – Saying some players had displayed “an attitude,” Patton demotes CU’s top two scorers, Richard Roby and Xavier Silas, and has them come off the bench against Kansas. Following the 75-46 home loss, Patton accuses his team of quitting on him and the season.
2006-07 season – With a youthful roster, Patton’s lame-duck season is setting standards for futility. CU entered Saturday’s home finale against Nebraska having lost nine home games, a school record. The Buffs post their worst-ever conference record (3-13) since the Big 12 was established and lost 11 league games by 10 or more points.
Tom Kensler can be reached at 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com.
