Colorado
Chicago State
Perimeter Players Pace Buffs
December 10, 2002 | Men's Basketball
BOULDER - The University of Colorado men's basketball team (4-2) brought home a convincing 80-61 win over Chicago State (0-4) at the Coors Events Conference Center on Wednesday night.
The Cougars effectively shut down Colorado's big man, sophomore center David Harrison holding him to 10 points on the night, while the Buffs outside shooters took control with junior guard Michel Morandais scoring a game-high 21 points. Morandais went 2-of-5 from beyond the arc while senior guard James Wright had a trio of threes and junior guard Blair Wilson added a pair of his own.
"The last couple of years the perimeter play has not been as good as it should be," said senior forward Stephane Pelle. "If that continues in to the Big 12 (conference play) this year, it will open a lot of things up. Hopefully Michel's play will be contagious to the other guards."
Pelle finished the game with 13 points, including a 5-for-6 effort from the free throw line, and 12 rebounds as he captured his second double-double of the season and 27th of his career, good enough for 8th place on the Buffs' all-time charts.
Making his fifth start of the season, freshman point-guard Antoine McGee dished out seven assists. The Buffs had just 11 assists-a low in the young season.
Chicago State forward Kelvin Smallwood led the Cougars with a 20-point effort while forward Rubeen Perry added 12. The pair were the only Cougars to hit double figures.
The Buffs opened the game with a 13-3 run and built their lead up to 17 at the break. Their largest lead of the night came with just under seven minutes remaining in the game as they went up by 22 points at 71-49.
"This was a good win for us going into exams," said head coach Ricardo Patton. "Certainly we played better in the first half than in the second. I think the reason for that is because we played the younger guys more. But from the guys who will play the bulk of the minutes (this season), I like what I saw."
Colorado's next game comes on the road when they travel to Houston, Texas, to take on Rice on Saturday, Dec. 21. The Buffs' final home contest before the holidays will be Monday, Dec. 23 with a 7 p.m. tip-off against North Texas.
