BOULDER, Colo. ? Blair Wilson scored 18 of his game-high 22 points by sinking six consecutive 3-pointers in the first half to lift the Buffaloes to an 88-70 win over Iowa State on Saturday afternoon at the Coors Events Center.
Wilson's record-breaking shot came at the 17:20 mark of the first half, when he hit his second trey of the game, 215th of his career, to break Stevie Wise's (1987-91) record.
“I was having fun out there,” Wilson said. “The guys were getting me good looks and I was able to knock my shots down. When you get hot like that, you feel like you can't miss, so I wasn't really thinking. I was just shooting and they were going in. That's something that doesn't happen enough.”
Colorado (10-4, 2-1 Big 12) got the best of the Cyclones (10-3, 2-1) for the seventh time in the last eight meetings held in Boulder.
“In the first half, I thought it was a track meet,” head coach Ricardo Patton said. “We did not even have time to look up and see what the score was. In the second half, I think our guys settled in and played solid basketball.”
Had Patton and company gotten a glimpse of the scoreboard, they would have seen a first half that featured 13 lead changes and a pair of tied scores, but going into the break it was the Buffs leading the way 44-41.
The lead was one they would never relinquish. Colorado would push its lead to as many as seven in the first four minutes of the second half, but then let the Cyclones climb back to within two. Leading 58-56, Colorado exploded for a 30-14 run to close out the game putting it out of reach for Iowa State.
Colorado out-played the Cyclones in nearly every category ? holding the advantage in field goal percentage (53 percent to 37 percent), rebounds (48 to 43), assists (23 to 10) and blocks (11 to three).
Leading Iowa State was Jackson Vroman who turned in a 20-point, 18 rebound appearance for the Cyclones. Not to be out done on the boards, Colorado's Lamar Harris nabbed a career high 19 boards, and scored 10 points ? good for his second double-double of the season.
Michel Morandais had 19 points, six assists and four blocks for the Buffs, while David Harrison pitched in 16 points, 10 boards and four blocks. Harrison recorded his sixth double-double of the season and 19th overall.
The Buffs now turn their attention to a pair of Big 12 road games. The Buffs travel to Oklahoma State for a 6 p.m. contest Jan. 21, followed by a Jan. 25 game against Kansas. Colorado lost to the Jayhawks when the two teams faced off in Boulder on Jan. 5, 77-62.
