Colorado
Georgia
Buffs Suffer First Home Loss
December 02, 2002 | Men's Basketball
BOULDER - In a half that featured 10 tied scores and six lead changes, it seemed only appropriate that the outcome of the Colorado-Georgia men's basketball game would be decided on the final possession. It was the Bulldogs that got the last score, dashing Colorado's hopes of victory with a three-pointer from Jonas Hayes with .00.2 seconds left in the game capturing a 71-70 victory over the Buffs Tuesday night at the Coors Events Center.
The Bulldogs (2-3) were able to snatch the victory from the Buffs and be on the winning side of a close game. In each of their three previous losses, Georgia has fallen by less than six points.
Georgia grabbed the lead off the opening tip, and held it throughout the first half before Colorado finally tied the score 11 minutes into the second frame at 52. The Buffs held a four point lead with 11 seconds remaining in the game. A three-pointer from Jarvis Hayes narrowed the gap to one before Colorado's senior guard James Wright connected on one of two free throws to drive the lead to two for the Buffs with five seconds remaining, setting up the Bulldogs last-ditch effort.
"It was a heck of a ball game," said head coach Ricardo Patton. "I thought the kids showed a lot of resolve by coming back and having the chance to win. Those are tough losses. You have got to be able to hit your free-throws and this game came down to hitting free-throws and that is what we didn't do."
Colorado was 12-of-22 from the free throw line including a pair of crucial misses in the game's final minute as the Buffs dropped their second consecutive contest to fall to 2-2 on the year.
The Buffs had five players in double digits, led by junior forward Michel Morandais' 16 points. Sophomore center David Harrison added 15 and grabbed a game-high 18 boards while junior guard Blair Wilson had 13, senior forward Stephane Pelle notched 11 and junior forward Lamar Harris had 10.
For the Bulldogs, junior guard Ezra Williams led the team with 18 points.
The Buffs now turn their attention to Saturday's road contest against the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Tip-off is set for 11 a.m.
