Buffs win third straight as Colorado downs Stanford 64-56
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) Lucas Siewert scored a career-high 17 points, including a pair of 3-pointers down the stretch and the Colorado Buffaloes beat the Stanford Cardinal 64-56 Sunday for their third win in a row.
George King had 11 points and McKinley Wright 10 for Colorado (15-10, 7-6 Pac-12), which beat Stanford (13-13, 7-6) for a ninth straight time.
''Coach challenged me to do better on the glass after the Cal game,'' said Siewert, who had seven rebounds against Stanford after having only a couple against Cal last week. ''My shots were falling today, which made things easier. ... I want my performance today to be the standard on how I should play going forward.''
The Cardinal were led by Dorian Pickens' 18 points. Daejon Davis had 12 points and Reid Travis added 10 for Stanford, which fell to 2-5 in conference play since a 5-1 start.
Trailing by 11 at the half, Stanford gradually cut into the deficit and pulled to within 45-42 on consecutive 3-pointers by Isaac White and Pickens with 9:01 remaining.
Pickens connected on another 3-pointer to get the Cardinal within a point with 6:35 left.
Colorado, though, put together a 12-3 run that Siewert punctuated with a pair of 3-pointers as the Buffaloes regained a 10-point edge with 1:07 remaining. Tyler Bey, who finished with nine points, also contributed a pair of key baskets, including a put-back dunk, during the flurry that the Buffaloes used to fend off the Cardinal.
''Coach encouraged me to go to the boards whenever I could and I was able to chase down a lot of those boards to help my team,'' Bey said.
Stanford coach Jerod Haase said Colorado got the offense it needed at crunch time and the Cardinal couldn't find the range.
''Sounds simple, but players made plays,'' Haase said. ''We had about three or four clean looks down that stretch there and didn't make them and they had three or four looks and made them. They did a nice job of getting looks and making plays.''
Colorado opened a 31-20 lead at halftime, hitting four 3-pointers in the last 3:55 of the period, including two by Siewert during a 9-0 burst by the Buffaloes.
The surge carried Colorado to a 15-point advantage but Travis had a couple of layups, converting one after a steal the final moments of the period, to narrow the gap a bit.
BIG PICTURE
Stanford: The Cardinal struggled again with their shooting, converting 35.7 percent of their shots from the floor against the Buffaloes, a tick below their 35.8 percent shooting in Thursday's 15-point loss at Utah. Stanford's offensive woes were epitomized by their 3-point shooting (7 of 21) as well as their consistency from the free throw line (9 of 15).
Colorado: The Buffaloes are poised for a strong finish, completing a sweep of their three-game homestand. They have five regular season games remaining - three on the road - but seem to be playing their best basketball down the stretch.
LOOKING GOOD
''It's been a huge run for us at home getting these quality wins to help build our resume for us to go to the tournament,'' said Wright. ''Going on the road, these are two must win games for us and we are very confident.''
REBOUNDING EDGE
Colorado outrebounded Stanford 42-38 overall and also came up with several offensive rebounds in the late going that led to critical second chance points for the Buffaloes as they sought to stifle Stanford's comeback bid.
Said Pickens: ''Unfortunately we didn't rebound the way we need to and they crushed us on the boards and they were able to get second chance points which ended up killing us. I think our effort was great.''
OUT INDEFINITELY
Colorado sophomore guard Deleon Brown fractured his left hand in a collision during practice last week, Boyle said. Brown, who watched the game from the bench with his arm in a sling, is expected to see a specialist in the next few days. He is out indefinitely.
UP NEXT
Stanford: Faces Bay area rival Cal next Sunday night in Berkeley.
Colorado: Opens two-game road swing with a visit to Washington State on Thursday night.
