COLUMBIA, Mo.—Darryl Butterfield has had such a spotty senior season that even the Missouri home crowd appears worried when he launches a shot.
Maybe they won’t be so hard on the 6-foot-7 forward after Saturday night, when he led a strong effort from the Tigers’ bench in a 60-53 victory over Colorado. Butterfield had eight points, five more than his total from the previous four games, and most of them coming in key spots.
“You could just see the bounce in his step,” coach Mike Anderson said. “You’ve got to find somebody to come off there and give you that lift, and he was that particular guy.”
Keon Lawrence had 16 points for Missouri (15-12, 5-7), which needed 32 points from the reserves after squandering all but two points of an 18-point cushion early in the second half.
“Coach told us before the game that our bench had to bring it,” said Butterfield, who averages 3.9 points. “He said don’t think about playing, just play off instincts.
“That’s what we did; that’s what I did.”
Marcus Hall had 17 points and Richard Roby 14 for Colorado (10-16, 2-10 Big 12), held without a free-throw attempt for the first time all season. Hall was held scoreless the final 11 minutes as the Buffaloes lost their 19th straight conference road game, including an 0-6 record this season.
Anderson said he can’t remember a game in which one team didn’t make it to the line, calling it “mind-boggling.” Colorado coach Jeff Bzdelik chose his words carefully, while noting the Buffaloes scored 34 points in the lane.
“It wasn’t like we weren’t going to the rim,” Bzdelik said. “There’s nothing I can say that will be right.”
Colorado was whistled for just 12 fouls and Missouri 11, with the Tigers going 4-for-9 from the line.
“I told the referee that we hadn’t been to the line,” Roby said. “I was hoping they would give us a break or something. They didn’t realize it.
“And we took about four or five charges that didn’t get called.”
Reserve Leo Lyons had 10 rebounds and seven points for Missouri, which led 40-22 three minutes into the second half. Colorado cut the gap to 50-48 when Roby scored from the baseline with 4:02 to go, but Missouri scored eight of the next 10 points.
“I think we started trying to win with offense and we’ve got to be a team that’s going to hang our hats on defense,” Anderson said. “You’ve got to credit Colorado. They’ve got some seniors and they wouldn’t quit, but we were able to find a way.”
Missouri swept the season series, erasing a 13-point second-half deficit in its first road victory of the season at Colorado on Jan. 26. Five players were handed disciplinary suspensions after a nightclub fight several hours after returning from the game.
Lawrence moved into the starting lineup after Stefhon Hannah, a central figure in the fight, was sidelined with a broken jaw. Hannah has since been dismissed from the team. Lawrence had only three points in 25 minutes in the first Colorado game.
“I was more into this game,” Lawrence said. “Know what I mean?”
Other big contributors from Missouri’s bench were Jason Horton and Marshall Brown with six points each and freshman Justin Safford with five.
Colorado played a man short a day after sophomore guard Xavier Silas was dismissed from the team for undisclosed reasons. Silas was the third-leading scorer with a 9.7-point average and started most of the season, although he had been a reserve the previous five games.
Colorado led 10-2 after the first 5:17, getting four points each from Roby and Hall while holding Missouri to one basket in its first 10 shots, with four blocked shots by Marcus King-Stockton. After missing its first four 3-pointers, Missouri hit six of its next eight. Lawrence had eight points in the final three minutes, including two 3-pointers, helping the Tigers overcome no points from leading scorer DeMarre Carroll.
Carroll, troubled much of the year with a sprained ankle, finished with two points for his fourth straight game below double figures.
“He’s in a lot of pain,” Lawrence said. “He can’t really move like he wants.”
