AMES, Iowa — Richard Roby shook his head and buried his face in a towel. A pat on the knee from Colorado aide Jody Bailey did little to ease the sting of another second-half swoon as the Buffaloes lost 57-41 on Tuesday night to Iowa State.
Forty-one points are the fewest the Buffaloes have scored in a regular-season conference game since joining the Big 12 — a stretch of 182 games.
It was also the third time in 10 days that Colorado (9-11, 1-5) had seen a significant lead in the second half erode. The Buffaloes led 25-17 with 18 minutes left, but the Cyclones (13-8, 3-3) responded with an 11-0 run to take the lead.
“Our issues aren’t basketball related,” Colorado coach Jeff Bzdelik said. “When they understand that great things can be accomplished when nobody gets the credit, they’ll complete a game.”
Colorado blew 13-point leads against Texas and Missouri earlier this season.
The game was tied at 35 with 10 minutes remaining, but Colorado did not make a shot the rest of the game. During that stretch, Marcus King-Stockton and Roby fouled out, and the Buffaloes had four turnovers and eight missed shots.
Roby scored 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting to lead Colorado, but was frustrated by the defense of Sean Haluska.
Cyclones forward Wesley Johnson, who had scored 20 or more points the past four games, left midway through the first half with an injury and did not return.
“Iowa State didn’t play their best player most of the game, and they still won,” Roby said.
COLORADO (9-11, 1-5 Big 12)
Hall 4-11 0-3 9, Higgins 1-8 2-2 4, Silas 0-3 3-4 3, Roby 5-7 1-2 13, King-Stockton 1-2 1-2 3, Thorne II 0-0 0-0 0, Coney 0-0 0-0 0, Knutson 0-5 0-0 0, Zehnder 0-0 0-0 0, Jackson-Wilson 4-8 1-2 9, Beckley 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-44 8-15 41.IOWA STATE (13-8, 3-3)
Clark 2-3 0-0 4, Brackins 4-11 2-5 10, Petersen 2-4 0-0 4, Hubalek 3-5 4-7 10, W. Johnson 1-2 0-0 2, Boozer 0-1 0-0 0, Lee 2-2 2-3 6, Garrett 2-6 0-1 5, Thompson 1-5 0-0 2, Haluska 3-5 1-2 9, C. Johnson 1-2 3-4 5. Totals 21-46 12-22 57.Halftime — CU 22-15. 3-point goals —CU 3-14 (Roby 2-2, Hall 1-3, Silas 0-2, Knutson 0-3, Higgins 0-4), ISU 3-11 (Haluska 2-3, Garrett 1-2, W. Johnson 0-1, Petersen 0-1, Brackins 0-1, Thompson 0-1, Clark 0-1, Boozer 0-1). Fouled out —King-Stockton, Roby. Rebounds — CU 30 (Hall 9), ISU 35 (Brackins, Clark 7). Assists — CU 5 (Hall, Higgins, Knutson, Silas, Thorne II 1), ISU 12 (Petersen 4). Total fouls —CU 22, ISU 18. A — 11,954.
