Colorado
Missouri
Buffs Fall To Missouri, 92-77
January 19, 2002 | Men's Basketball
COLUMBIA, Mo. - After hitting the game winning shot against Iowa State on Wednesday, Stephane Pelle continued to impress on Saturday scoring 17 points and grabbing 18 rebounds, nine on the offensive glass, to lead four Buffalo players in double figures, but Colorado couldn't overcome a powerful Missouri team and fell to the Tigers 92-77 in front of the 11, 886 in attendance.
Colorado (10-5, 1-3 Big 12) shot 42 percent from the floor and hit only five of their 19 three point attempts, while Missouri (14-4, 4-1 Big 12) connected on 20 of thier first 32 shots and knocked down 10 treys to finish the game shooting 53 percent. D.J. Harrsion scored 14 points and brother David Harrison had 13 points and six boards--all offensive. Michel Morandais added 10 points.
Missouri's Kareem Rush, the Big 12's third leading scorer, scored 29 points--10 points above his average--and added three assists and three steals to help the Tigers win their fourth Big 12 game and remain in fourth place, while Colorado remains in eighth place. Arthur Johnson shot 10-13 from the field to finish with 20 points and Clarence Gilbert scored 15 points.
"They came out red-hot and I thought Arthur Johnson was a big presence for them on the outside. Any time you have an inside-outside combination with Rush knocking down the shots he did, it makes for a tough game," said head coach Ricardo Patton.
The Buffs outrebounded the Tigers 45-28. Colorado had 26 offensive boards and only 19 defensive.
Kansas State will be in Boulder on on Tuesday, Jan. 22, for a 7 PM game. Kansas State (6-8, 0-3 Big 12) is led by Larry Reid (13.5 PPG, 6.08 APG) and Pervis Pasco (11.8 PPG, 8.6 RPG).
POST-GAME QUOTES
Colorado Head Coach, Ricardo Patton
On the game: "They came out red-hot and I thought Arthur Johnson was a big presence for them on the outside. Any time you have an inside-outside combination with Rush knocking down the shots he did, it makes for a tough game."
On Colorado's play in the second half: "In the second half, I thought we played a lot better. They cooled off some too. They had some guys with foul trouble in the second half. We did too, but I thought that they were a little deeper than us."
Colorado Freshman Center, David Harrison
On Colorado's loss: "We had to play and play hard. They just played good basketball, and we didn't. We came in, they beat us up and they got us into foul trouble. That's one thing we have to get out of our repertoire--letting teams push us around."
Colorado Junior Forward, Stephane Pelle On David Harrison, the 7-foot Colorado freshman center: "That's one thing we try to take advantage of. We have a 7-footer on the inside and some good guards, and every game we need to go to one of those weapons. This is the Big 12. They know exactly what we're doing. They were cheating on the screens we were setting. Every time we kicked in, there were three guys on us. With the freshmen we have, it's a learning experience, so we have to grow with them and help them out with that."
On the officiating: "I don't look at the officiating. That's their job. I try to complain and that's about it. I can't blame them for what happened. We did the mistakes, and we have to pay for them."
Missouri Head Coach, Quin Snyder
On the game: "I was happy with how we played in the first half. I thought that's the game we've been working towards on the offensive end. The kids really shared the ball, and then we shot well, but that wasn't the story. It's an oversimplification of what happened. We've shot well at other times this year. We played well, and as a result, because we played well, we shot well, and there's a difference. We defended as well. We took away their transition early, and we got a lot of transition. That's how we like to play."
On setting offensive tempo early in the game: "We wanted to run. We wanted to get out and run. I think the kids were listening. They were attentive to the game plan. We knew we wanted to try and take away their transition. We knew it'd be important to play in the post. We did those things defensively. I think the result was we had some opportunities in transition."
On second half concerns: "The part that concerned me was our rebounding. Who new were in the second half is exactly who I know we are. We are a team that's inconsistent right now because of our youth. So we have to hang on unbelievably tight in order to play the right way and it still does not come easily to us."
