BOULDER — In a battle for 10th place in the Big 12 standings — or, as coaches prefer to say, for the No. 10 seed in the conference tournament — Colorado and Iowa State took it down to the wire today in the Coors Events Center.
Clutch free throws down the stretch by Colorado (13-15, 4-10 Big 12) proved to be the difference in the Buffaloes’ 75-72 victory.
Iowa State (14-15, 3-11) had a chance to tie the game, getting the ball with 6.7 seconds remaining. But a desperation 3-pointer by Diante Garrett, with CU’s 6-7 Marcus Relphorde in his face, hit the front end of the rim as the buzzer sounded.
Junior guard Cory Higgins put on a show for Colorado, recording a season high with 33 points. But Buffs freshman Alec Burks struggled. Obviously a focus of Iowa State’s defensive game plan, Burks managed just 11 points and rarely had an open look.
However, Burks went four-for-four from the foul line in the last 1:16 to keep CU on top.
Iowa State got 26 points from 6-7 junior-college transfer Marcus Gilstrap, who also deserved much of the credit for the defensive job on Burks.
A crowd of 6,613 watched 6-9 reserve forward Casey Crawford swish two 3-pointers to put CU up 63-61 with 5:50 to go. But the Buffs couldn’t gain any separation.
Entering the game, Colorado had reason to feel confident. The Buffs lost by one point in the earlier meeting in Ames, Iowa – even with Burks sitting out the last 37 minutes with a knee injury.
The home team started out fast, taking a 23-15 lead on a 3-pointer by Dwight Thorne. But Iowa State began to flex its size and strength advantage and fought back by dominating the paint.
Despite shooting 55.6 percent from the field in the first half, Colorado trailed 38-36 at the break. More trips to the foul line for Iowa State was the difference, set up by more aggressive drives down the lane and along the baseline.
Colorado plays Tuesday night at league cellar-dweller Nebraska before completing the regular season with a Saturday home game against Texas Tech.
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
