BOULDER, Colo.—Just when Colorado Christian was threatening to make a game of it against Colorado, Cory Higgins went to the basket to regain control for the Buffaloes.
Higgins scored 15 of his 25 points in the second half, helping Colorado shut down Colorado Christian’s long-shot comeback bid for an 84-65 victory Monday night.
“We had to pick up our intensity and start being aggressive,” Higgins said. “I think our intensity dropped a little bit, just out of human nature. But we have to be able to fight that and stay aggressive at all times. We need to pick up our energy on both ends of the court.”
Colorado led by as many as 30 points in the first half but settled for a 47-27 advantage at the break.
With 8:15 left, the Cougars got within 66-56 on Rye Olson’s 3-pointer. Higgins, though, didn’t let them get any closer.
He hit a 3-pointer, and then scored the Buffaloes’ next seven points, including five from the free-throw line after drawing fouls on a series of drives to the basket, to help put the game out of reach. Alec Burks followed Higgins’ lead, adding a pair of driving layups to extend Colorado’s cushion.
Burks and Levi Knutson each finished with 11 points for the Buffaloes (6-3), who improved to 5-0 at home, their best start at the Coors Events Center since winning the first five at home in 2005-06.
But their latest win was harder than it had to be.
“It is always a battle, and that is where we have to grow,” Colorado coach Jeff Bzdelik said. “You are going to have periods where you are not so good offensively, but you cannot take possessions off defensively, like when you see the hands drop, or we are a step or two behind. We need all five guys to play together.”
Jobi Wall led Colorado Christian (1-5) with 18 points. Justin Neuhaus added 16 points, Anthony Urrutia had 13 and Abram Ziemer added 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Division II Cougars.
Colorado Christian coach Dave Daniels said he liked the way his players finished after starting out so poorly.
“I think our guys just came out and played free,” Daniels said. “I don’t know if it was nerves or excitement, but we were a little tentative in the first half. We just came out and played in the second.”
Colorado Christian appeared overmatched early on, failing to score their first basket until 4:28 into the game and falling behind 28-8.
That was largely due to a 14-0 run by the Buffaloes midway through the first half. Keegan Hornbuckle, Casey Crawford and Knutson all had 3-pointers during the spree while Austin Dufault capped the burst with a three-point play.
