AMES, Iowa — Colorado’s Marcus Relphorde missed a layup at the buzzer, and Iowa State held on to beat the Buffaloes 64-63 on Saturday night.
Craig Brackins had 27 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Cyclones (13-8, 2-4 Big 12), but he threw the ball away on an inbounds pass with nine seconds remaining. That gave Colorado (11-10, 2-5) a golden opportunity to break a 33-game road losing streak in Big 12 play, but Relphorde’s shot bounced off the rim.
Cory Higgins had 21 points to lead Colorado.
Colorado freshman Alec Burks left the game with an apparent knee injury early in the first half and didn’t return. Burks entered Saturday averaging 17.2 points and five rebounds.
Iowa State snapped a three-game losing streak, but the Cyclones did all they could to give it to Colorado down the stretch.
With 24 seconds remaining, Higgins drove to the rim and converted a tough three-point play to cut Iowa State’s lead to 62-61. Higgins hit another layup after a pair of Cyclones free throws, and Colorado trapped Scott Christopherson in the corner, forcing ISU to call a timeout.
After Brackins’ inbound pass went awry, Colorado’s Austin Dufault scooped up the loose ball. The Buffs didn’t have much time to get the play they wanted, and Relphorde missed the potential game-winner.
Relphorde had 11 points and Casey Crawford added 10 off the bench for the Buffs, who fell for the fourth time in five games.
For the first 24 minutes, it looked as though Colorado might cruise to its first Big 12 road win since 2006.
Iowa State got off to another bad start against the Buffaloes, falling behind 18-4. The Cyclones committed seven turnovers in the first eight minutes, and four Buffs hit 3-pointers to help push the lead to 14.
Iowa State rallied, but CU still held a 31-25 advantage at halftime.
