Buffs Drop Heartbreaker in OT

BOULDER - Sophomore guard Cory Higgins scored a career-high 34 points and grabbed nine rebounds, however Texas managed to outscore the Buffaloes by a 13-4 margin in overtime to escape with a 85-76 win over Colorado, Saturday afternoon at the Coors Events Conference Center.

Senior Jermyl Jackson-Wilson and junior Dwight Thorne II each added 10 points, respectively as the Buffs dropped to 9-15 overall and 1-9 in the Big 12. The loss is CU's sixth in conference play out of 10 games were the deficit was single digits and the 1-9 mark is the worst start for a CU team in the 13-year history of the Big 12.

Freshman Austin Dufault played a season-high 42 minutes, scoring eight points with five rebounds.

"First of all I am very proud of my basketball team, with the exception of one half versus Iowa State," said CU head coach Jeff Bzdelik. "They are working hard to improve, their competitive spirit is great. Gaining wisdom and experience are coming at the high cost of tough losses. They need to keep believing. I thought that our fans were awesome. We are just going to continue to work hard to turn this thing around. We are not quite physically strong enough, and we are not there mentally in certain aspects of the game."

Texas' Damion James had a chance to win the game in regulation, but missed two free throws with 1.6 seconds remaining, forcing the extra session.

The Buffaloes, who trailed by as many as 15 points, tied the game at 72 when Jackson-Wilson sank two free throws with 7.6 seconds left.

With 4:04 remaining in overtime, Thorne II tied the game at 74 with two free throws. The Longhorns started a 9-0 run capped by two Abrams free throws.

The Buffs made 12-of-20 (60 percent) of their shots from the field in the second half and 48.9 percent (23-of-47) for the game. CU was able to score a good portion of their 76 points from the free throw line, tying a season-best 25 from the charity stripe, a 14-of-14 performance all in the second half.

The Longhorns (17-7, 6-4) have won two straight games, shot 57.4 percent (31-of-54) from the field and hit 17-of-27 (63 percent) in second half including overtime.

A.J. Abrams led the Longhorns with 29 points, 17 of those in the second half. James added 21 points and 14 rebounds.

Colorado will take to the road to face Nebraska (15-8, 5-5) on Wednesday, Feb 18 at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPNU.