BOULDER, Colo.—Cory Higgins hit all 16 free-throw attempts and scored 26 points to lead Colorado to an 88-72 victory against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Friday night.
Alec Burks added 13 for Colorado (1-0), which is 13-1 in season openers since 1996. The Buffaloes were without coach Jeff Bzdelik, who was away to attend to an unspecified family emergency.
“I thought we played with energy and passion,” said Steve McClain, Colorado’s acting head coach. “No game is easy this time of year, especially when you play a team that basically has its whole team back.”
Terrance Calvin led Arkansas-Pine Bluff (0-1) with 21 points. Tyree Glass had 13.
Colorado held the Golden Lions to 8-of-26 shooting in the first half. The Buffaloes didn’t allow their lead to slip under 20 points until 10:20 remained, when Tavaris Washington’s dunk made it 61-42.
“Our effort wasn’t there with loose balls, and we didn’t communicate at the start,” Arkansas-Pine Bluff coach George Ivory said. “I told our team you have to play with energy all the time and not wait until the second half to do that.”
Burks’ three-point play with 7:30 remaining put Colorado up 70-47. Arkansas-Pine Bluff closed the gap to 84-69 with a layup with 1:43 left, but Higgins answered with two free throws and a jumper.
“The difference was we forced a lot of errors and got some easy baskets off of them,” said Higgins, who posted his 13th career 20-point game. “I think you saw too that we are much more balanced than last year.”
The Golden Lions, who belong to the Southwestern Athletic Conference, led for the last time, 4-2, after LeBaron Weathers’ 15-foot jumper with 17:55 remaining in the first half. An 11-0 run by Colorado shortly afterward gave the Buffaloes the lead for good.
Colorado led 43-22 at halftime.
