Silas, Roby Lead CU Charge In Win Over Iowa State
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) - Freshman forward Xavier Silas scored all 19 of his points in the second half, sparking Colorado to a 74-65 victory over Iowa State on Wednesday night.
Silas watched most of the first half from the bench after picking up two quick fouls and taking a seat next to coach Ricardo Patton after logging just three minutes.
He was all over the court after halftime, tying his season high for points and helping the Buffaloes (5-9, 1-3 Big 12) end a three-game skid. Junior Richard Roby added 15 points for the Buffs.
“If you told me before the game that we could shoot 53 percent (14-of-26) from the free throw line and still win, I don’t know if I’d believe it. But our guys played hard," said CU head coach Ricardo Patton. "I saw some good things, but had to deal with some lapses. If we can take this game and learn and grow and make free throws maybe the game is not as hard as we made it.”
Wesley Johnson and Jiri Hubalek each scored 15 points for the Cyclones (11-7, 2-2), who showed some hangover from their overtime loss to No. 6 Kansas on Saturday, falling behind 20-8 when Roby scored eight points in the first 12 minutes.
Iowa State chipped away and took a 33-31 lead into the locker room on Rahshon Clark's pull-up 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer. The Cyclones were just 1-for-11 from beyond the arc before Clark's swish, which capped a 14-3 run.
Silas scored 11 straight points, on a trio of 3-pointers and a layup down the baseline, to help the Buffaloes regain their lead at 47-41 in the opening minutes of the second half, and Colorado never trailed again.
Silas' 3-pointer with 6:47 left gave the Buffs a 58-52 lead that they extended to 63-52 on Jermyl Jackson-Wilson's three points and a bucket by Dominique Coleman (nine points, seven rebounds, four assists, four steals).
Clark's basket pulled the Cyclones to 67-60 with 2:16 left, but Mike Taylor (13 points) fouled out with 1:36 remaining and Coleman made one of two free throws for a 68-60 lead.