BOULDER — Colorado made sure early that its National Invitation Tournament hopes remain very much alive.
Racing to an 18-point halftime lead with a 53-point explosion, Colorado (15-15, 6-10 Big 12) pulled even in its won-loss record Saturday afternoon with a 101-90 romp over Texas Tech in the Coors Events Center.
Getting 30 points from Cory Higgins and 24 from Alec Burks, CU completed its regular season by securing the No. 8 seed in next week’s Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City and will again face ninth-seeded Texas Tech (16-14, 4-12), at 10:30 a.m. Mountain on Wednesday. Colorado was the No. 12 seed the past two years.
A victory on Wednesday would assure CU of at least a .500 record and thus be a candidate for the NIT.
With his 18th point, Burks became CU’s all-time freshman scorer. He broke the former freshman mark of 480 points set by Richard Roby during the 2004-05 season.
Colorado shot a sizzling 59.3 percent from the field in the first half, including six-for-10 on 3-pointers. Relphorde (15) and Burks (14) combined for 29 points in sparking the Buffs to a 53-25 lead at the break. Relphorde finished with 18 points.
Nick Okorie scored 34 for the Red Raiders.
The 53 points are the most scored by CU in a first half this season. CU converted 15-of-16 free throws during the opening 20 minutes.
Saturday marked the final home game for senior guard Dwight Thorne and fourth-year walkon Trent Beckley. They were honored after the game as part of Senior Day activities. Thorne scored eight points. Beckley, from Vail, is out with medical problem.
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
