COLORADO NABS WIN OVER MISSOURI

Wednesday, January 28

Boulder, Colo.

7:00 p.m.

Colorado

Missouri

Photo by: Associated Press

January 28, 2004 | Men's Basketball

By: Jody Woodman, Student Assistant SID

BOULDER ? Paced by 28 points from Michel Morandais the Colorado men's basketball team upended Missouri 83-70 Wednesday night at the Coors Events Center. The win moved the Buffs' record to 11-0 on the season when holding opponents to 70 points or less.

David Harrison added 22 points and 10 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season and 20^th of his career. It marked the first time this season that Harrison and Morandais each scored 20-plus points. The win snapped a two-game skid for Colorado (11-6, 3-3 Big 12).

For the Tigers (8-8, 3-3) Arthur Johnson netted 19 points before fouling out late in the second half.

“It was a really good win against a really good basketball team,” head coach Ricardo Patton said. “I think our guys played really focused and together basketball.”

The Buffs trailed for a 20-second stretch early in the game, but took the lead for good with 17:02 remaining in the first frame. Missouri kept it close until the half and Colorado went into the break with a four-point lead, 34-30.

Coming out in the second half, it was all Buffaloes as Colorado outscored Missouri 13-8 in the first 10 minutes. Missouri narrowed the lead to 10 with 1:30 remaining, but would never overcome the Buffs early second half run. Colorado shot 54.9 percent (28-of-51), marking the sixth time they've shot 50 percent or better this season. Each of the occasions came at home and each resulted in a Colorado victory.

At times, the Buffs played stifling defense and Missouri's leading scorer, Ricky Paulding (16.4 points per game) mustered just nine points on a 3-of-12 effort from the floor.

Following the win Patton made a brief speech dedicating the win to Sox Walseth, the legendary Colorado basketball coach who died earlier in the day. Patton held up the game ball, promising to give it to Walseth's wife in his memory. Prior to tip-off, all in attendance observed a moment of silence for Walseth, who died after a two-year battle with cancer.

“It puts it in perspective for me,” Patton said. “You worry so much about winning basketball games that sometimes you forget how much you have to be thankful for. I've spent a lot of time today thinking about him, and I do miss him.”

Colorado hits the court again on Saturday night for a 7 p.m. tip against Baylor at home.