Colorado University Athletics
COLORADO DEFEATS NORTHWESTERN 66-57
BOULDER ? The Colorado Buffaloes overcame a tight first half to best the visiting Northwestern Wildcats 66-57 Sunday afternoon at the Coors Events Center.
Freshman guard Richard Roby led the Buffs with his first career double-double, tallying 16 points and 13 rebounds, and three other Buffs scored in double figures as CU pulled away after a first half which included eight lead changes and eight ties.
Down by one in the first half, Roby and junior forward/center Julius Ashby had back-to-back highlight-reel dunks off steals to ignite the home crowd of 2,167 and put the Buffs on top 28-25 going into the halftime.
After Chris Copeland hit a 5-foot jumper 34 seconds into the second half, the Wildcats went on a 12-3 run in a span of 4:20 to take a 37-33 lead.
The Buffs would stage a comeback with the help of Copeland, who finished with a career-high 15 points and 10 rebounds with a new-look shaved head. His 3-pointer with 8:33 left tied the game, and sixteen seconds later he made a lay up to put the Buffs on top 46-44, a lead that they would never relinquish.
GÇ£ItGÇÖs a good win against a great quality opponent," said CU Head Coach Ricardo Patton. "Late when we were down 44-37 it was a pretty scary time for us. But we managed to get the right guys on the floor and changing into zone defense helped us get the lead."
Jayson Obazuaye scored 14 points for his second best career scoring output, and Ashby added 10 points and 7 rebounds for the Buffs, who improved to 53-6 in non-conference home games under Patton.
Northwestern (1-3) was led by forward Vedran Vukusic, who finished with 25 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore forward Tim Doyle finished the game with 11 points, as he was the only other Wildcat in double figures.
The game was the second meeting between the two teams in as many years. CU opened the 2003-04 season with a 67-56 road win against the Wildcats. The victory improved the BuffsGÇÖ overall record in the series to 6-3, with the first seven meetings taking place from 1949-1968.
Colorado (2-1) will play their next game Dec. 4, at Oregon State. The game will be televised on FSN at 2:30 p.m. (MST).