Colorado
Pennsylvania
Buffs Pummel Penn
January 03, 2003 | Men's Basketball
BOULDER - The Colorado Buffaloes men's basketball team drove their season record to 9-3 with their fifth consecutive win in a dominating 80-57 victory over the University of Pennsylvania Quakers on Saturday night at the Coors Events Conference Center.
The Quakers (3-4) scored the game's first basket 39-seconds into the first half, but Penn would only hold the lead for 18 seconds as the Buffs exploded on a 15-2 run in the next six minutes opening up a 13-point lead that they would never relinquish.
After carrying an 18-point advantage into the break, the Buffs continued to build on their momentum driving their lead to as many as 23 before allowing the Quakers to get back into the game. Pennsylvania went on a 16-5 run to narrow the Buffs lead to 11 halfway through the second frame, but senior forward Stephane Pelle squelched any momentum the Quakers had, sinking back-to- back jumpers for the Buffs.
"That team (Penn) is much better than they showed tonight," head coach Ricardo Patton said. "I thought we had a really good defensive job. I was most proud of how we tried to play some defense. It was a solid team effort."
Colorado had four players score in double figures on the night. Junior forward Michel Morandais led the way with 19 points followed by Pelle with 16. Pelle also grabbed 13 rebounds to record his fifth double-double of the year, 30th of his career. Sophomore center David Harrison was started slow, but finished strong adding 15 points while junior forward Blair Wilson had 12 points. All of Wilson's points came from three-point range in the first half.
The Buffs shot 48.3 percent (29-for-60) from the floor compared to the Quakers 32.7 percent (17-for-52). Penn had just two players reach the double-digit plateau as forwards Ugonna Onyekwe and Koko Archibong had 12 points each.
"Right now, I'd say we're getting what we want to get," Pelle said. "Our defense is getting there and we're stopping people when we want to. Especially against a team like Penn, some people might think that they're not that good, but we've seen the scouting reports and they're a good team."
The Buffs will now turn their attention to their final non-conference opponent-a match-up with in-state foe Colorado State (11-3) on Tuesday, January 7th. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Coors Events Conference Center.
