BOULDER, Colo.—Cory Higgins and Alec Burks made sure Colorado headed to Hawaii on a winning note.
Higgins and Burks had 23 points each and the Buffaloes beat short-handed Texas Southern 88-77 on Wednesday night in their last game before the Maui Invitational.
Marcus Relphorde had 11 points for the Buffaloes, who are 3-0 for the first time since the 2001-02 season and head Maui to face Gonzaga on Monday.
The young Buffaloes, who have only one senior, leaned on Burks to get past the Tigers (1-2). The true freshman scored 15 points in the second half, including a 3-pointer with 3:41 left to put Colorado ahead 76-69.
“Cory told me midway through the second half to be aggressive every time and that’s what I was trying to do,” Burks said.
Higgins’ three-point play gave Colorado an 81-71 lead with 1:46 left, and Texas Southern got no closer than seven the rest of the way.
“It was good for us because we know we’re going to be battle every game in Maui and we needed something like this to get a little taste of what it feels like to be tested,” Higgins said.
It might have been a tougher battle if Texas Southern had its full lineup. The Tigers played without two starters, including leading scorer Whitworth Treasure. Treasure, a junior-college transfer from Southern-Shreveport in Louisiana, was sidelined because paperwork for the transfer was not in order. Treasure averaged 24 points in the Tigers’ first two games.
Coach Tony Harvey said he got word 20 minutes before tip-off that Treasure would have to sit out.
“It was an error that was so minute. It’s just very disappointing what happened,” Harvey said. “He gives us a very different look on the floor.”
Starting forward Ricky Boyles tweaked his ankle and was out of the lineup.
Without them, Travele Jones stepped up with a game-high 31 points, and it was almost enough against Colorado. After falling behind by 16 early in the second half, the Tigers went on a 16-5 run to get within 66-62 with 7:45 left. Aaron Clayborn scored on a layup with 4:52 left to make it 71-69, the closest Texas Southern had been since late in the first half.
“I was nervous,” Burks said. “I’d never been in that situation as a freshman, so I just relied on my teammates.”
Higgins hit a layup and Burks followed with his 3-pointer to give Colorado some breathing room.
“He’s a big-time player, and he’s not going to back down from anything,” Higgins said of Burks.
The game was close throughout the first half before Colorado went on a run prior to the break. Higgins scored 15 first-half points to lead the Buffaloes, who shot 58 percent in the first 20 minutes.
Jones matched Higgins’ 15 first-half points to keep the Tigers close until Colorado got some separation.
Leading 33-32 with 3:44 left, the Buffaloes went on an 8-0 run to take a nine-point lead. Jones scored four points in the final minute to pull the Tigers within 43-36 at the break.
