Oklahoma State University Athletics
Buffaloes, altitude stop Cowboys, 68-56
April 10, 2003 | Cowboy Basketball
Colorado played without leading scorer Michel Morandais because of a sprained ankle, but still improved its home record to 12-1. The Buffaloes are 7-0 in the conference at home, including victories over Texas, Kansas and Missouri.
Oklahoma State shot 32 percent — many were way off the mark — to lose three straight for the first time since 1998-99. Ivan McFarlin had 13 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Cowboys, who have lost seven of 10 following a 17-1 start.
Oklahoma State cut Colorado's five-point halftime lead to 31-30 on a vicious dunk by Tony Allen that left the backboard shaking for about 30 seconds. It would be as close as the Cowboys would get.
Colorado answered with a 10-0 run, capped by Blair Wilson's 3-pointer that hit the front of the rim and bounced in to take a 43-30 lead with 16 minutes left.
The Cowboys kept trying to chip away at the lead, but couldn't shoot straight enough to mount any kind of run.
Oklahoma State shot 9-of-29 in the second half, and it got so bad that McFarlin missed an open layup midway through.
The Cowboys had trouble with Colorado's aggressive man-to-man defense from the start.
Oklahoma State opened the game 2-for-13 from the field and went more than six minutes without a field goal midway through the first half.
The Cowboys missed eight straight shots and had three turnovers before Melvin Sanders banked in a 25-foot 3-pointer at the shot clock buzzer with 11:10 left.
Colorado wasn't much better.
The Buffaloes went on an 8-0 run to go up 10-7 during Oklahoma State's dry spell, but they were just 4-for-14 from the field over the first 10 minutes. Colorado bounced back with an 11-3 run to take a 31-26 halftime lead.
Allen, Oklahoma State's second-leading scorer, was 1-for-10 for two points in the first and finished 2-for-13 with nine points.
