BUFFS BLOW PAST NO. 22 TEXAS TECH, 85-75

Wednesday, February 18

Boulder, Colo.

5:00 p.m.

Colorado

Texas Tech

Photo by: Associated Press

February 18, 2004 | Men's Basketball

By: Jody Woodman, Student Assistant SID

BOULDER, Colo. ? The Colorado Buffaloes approached Wednesday night's game against Texas Tech with determination.

They were determined that Tech's leading scorer, Andre Emmett (21.8 ppg) wouldn't become the all-time leader in conference scoring and they were determined to win the game.

They did both in notching an 85-75 win over the Red Raiders and their fiery coach Bobby Knight in front of a crowd of 8,000-plus and a nationally televised ESPN audience.

“It was a great team win,” head coach Ricardo Patton said. “I thought our kids came out and played focused basketball. I thought we came unraveled at some points, played carelessly, and maybe lost our temper, but that is what happens in the heat of the battle. I think this shows how much our guys wanted to win.”

Center David Harrison had 24 points, and 10 rebounds as he recorded his ninth double-double on the season and his 22 of his career to lead the Buffs (14-8, 6-5).

Devonne Giles had 18 points and 18 boards, including a double-double (14 points, 10 boards) by halftime for the Red Raiders (18-7, 6-5).

The Buffs came out to grab the lead from the opening tip, and jumped to a 14-9 advantage before the Red Raiders tied the score. There were seven tied scores in the frame and four lead changes, but when the Buffs went ahead with a pair of Michel Morandais free throws at the 3:15 mark of the half, there was no looking back.

Colorado would go into the halftime break holding a 48-42 lead as Harrison turned an errant Blair Wilson three into a slam dunk as time expired.

“This win was huge,” Wilson said. “It puts us in fourth place in the Big 12 and that is big. We are fighting for that first round bye in the Big 12 tournament. We still have some home and some road games that we need to win. This was definitely our biggest win of the season. After a win like this we have to be confident.”

Texas Tech would narrow the Colorado lead to as few as four early in the second half, but Colorado turned offensive opportunities into clutch baskets to seal the victory ? the first over the Red Raiders since Jan. 20, 2001 and the first Patton has notched over Knight since beating Knight's Indiana team in the first round of the 1997 NCAA tournament.

Michel Morandais, who hyper-extended his knee in the first half, returned to score 22 points and moved into the top-10 of Colorado's all-time scoring leaders with 1318 career points.

Wilson and Glean Eddy added 12 points each as the Buffaloes drove their home conference record to 5-1 this year and 13-1 over the past two seasons.

Colorado will now be forced to take its show to the road where they will face Kansas State in Manhattan, Kan., on Saturday at 5 p.m. The Buffs have won their last two over the Wildcats on last-second shots.