Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
7-6
SMU
5-7
Buffs Fall at SMU, 70-67
January 05, 2009 | Men's Basketball
DALLAS – Dwight Thorne II scored 18 points and freshman Austin Dufault added 13, however the SMU Mustangs ran to a 70-67 victory, Monday night.
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The Buffs dropped their third straight game, falling to 7-6 while SMU improved to 5-7.
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"We're just not deep enough," said CU head coach Jeff Bzdelik on the AM 760 post-game radio show. "I wish I had confidence in our bench, but people don't see what I see in practice. They need to step up and help because we run out of gas and get a step slow in parts of the game and that hurts us.
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"I'm proud of my team, they're just young and they need to keep battling and not lose their confidence. You can't expedite experience, it just has to happen."
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CU received balanced scoring as five players hit double-digits. In addition to Thorne, who also hit a career-high four three-pointers, and Dufault, Cory Higgins recorded 11, freshman Nate Tomlinson and senior Jermyl Jackson-Wilson added 10 apiece.
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The Mustangs jumped out to an early lead in the second half but Colorado closed in on SMU's lead. At 2:01, a Jackson-Wilson layup pushed the Buffs to within four points at 64-60. With under one minute remaining, Higgins hit a three-pointer but with 00:17 to play, however SMU's Bamba Fall hit two free throw shots.
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A Tomlinson jumper with 0:08 remaining closed the gap to 69-67, but a free throw shot by Fall ended the game. Tomlinson attempted a three-pointer at the buzzer to tie, but hit the side of the iron.Â
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The Buffs had not placed five players in double-digit scoring since Dec. 29, 2007 against Grambling State.
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Dufault was also productive on the boards, grabbing a team-high seven rebounds. Higgins and Tomlinson added six and five, respectively. The Mustangs out-rebounded CU, 38-37, however the game was won at the free throw line where SMU went 21-of-29, while CU only shot 10-of-11.
CU was called for 23 fouls, the Mustangs were only whistled 13 times.
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Higgins broke the Big 12 and school record with 40-consecutive free throws over the last seven games. Tonight he made all four his free throws. Ironically, Higgins' free throws were the 39th and 40th CU points scored.
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The previous Big 12 record for consecutive free throws made was 39 (Joey Graham, OSU, 2004-05). The CU record was 39, Rob Gonzalez, Jan. 10-Feb. 26, 1983 (13 games).
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Colorado shot 45.3 percent (24-of-53) from the field while SMU hit 21-of-51 (41.2 percent).The Buffs entered the game with the 15th best field goal percentage in the nation (.492).
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The Mustangs led by as much as nine during the first half, but two three-pointers by redshirt-sophomore Casey Crawford and Dufault and a jumper by Higgins narrowed SMU's lead to one point with 4:18 remaining in the first half. Crawford hit a jumper at the buzzer to take a 33-32 half-time lead. CU is 4-1 this season when leading at half-time.
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The Buffs hit 11-of-22 from the field in the first half, the eighth game this season CU is shooting 50 percent from the field in the first half.
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In their last four games, CU is 56-of-65 (.862) from the charity stripe.
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SMU was led by Derek Williams, who scored 14 points, and Fall added 13 points and 11 rebounds.
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Colorado returns home to host Western State College (Colo.) on Wednesday, Jan. 7 at 7 p.m. before opening Big 12 play at Missouri on Wednesday, Jan. 14 at 7 p.m. (MST) on ESPNU.
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Game Notes:
- Freshman Nate Tomlinson has had an assist in every game played this season. Tonight he tied his season-high (five)Â
- Cory Higgins led CU in assists for the fourth time this season (one shared)
- The team has nine student-athletes with 2.9 grade point average or higher.
- The team has five student-athletes with a 3.0 or better (Trent Beckley, Austin Dufault, Trey Eckloff, Levi Knutson, Andrew Zehnder).
- It is the seventh straight game with the same line up (Tomlinson, Higgins, Dufault, Thorne II, Jackson-Wilson).
- Dufault, Higgins, Thorne II have started all 13 games.
- CU has made a 3-pointer in 208-straight games.
- With five assists tonight, Tomlinson has 44 assists moving into 14th place on CU's all-time freshman assists list.
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