Loss is 9th in a row to Buffs
COLORADO 64, STANFORD 56
BOULDER, Colo. — Dorian Pickens scored 18 points for Stanford, but the Cardinal lost to Colorado 64-56 on Sunday, their ninth consecutive defeat at the hands of the Buffaloes.
Daejon Davis had 12 points and Reid Travis added 10 for Stanford (13-13, 7-6 Pac-12), which is 2-5 in conference play since a 5-1 start.
Stanford head coach Jerod Haase said Colorado got the offense it needed at crunch time and the Cardinal couldn’t find the range.
“Sounds simple, but players made plays,” Haase said. “We had about three or four clean looks down that stretch there and didn’t make them, and they had three or four looks and made them. They did a nice job of getting looks and making plays.”
Lucas Siewert scored a career-high 17 points, including two three-pointers down the stretch, as Colorado (15-10, 7-6) earned its third win in a row.
The Cardinal struggled again with their shooting, converting 35.7 percent from the floor. Stanford missed 14 of 21 tries from three-point range and six of 15 free-throw attempts.
Down 11 at the half, Stanford gradually cut into the deficit and cut the deficit to 45-42 on consecutive three-pointers by Isaac White and Pickens with 9:01 remaining.
Pickens connected on another three-pointer to help the Cardinal cut the margin to one with 6:35 left.
Colorado, though, put together a 12-3 run that Siewert punctuated with two three-pointers as the Buffs regained a 10-point edge with 1:07 remaining. Tyler Bey, who finished with nine points, also contributed two key baskets, including a putback dunk, during the flurry that the Buffaloes used to fend off the Cardinal.
Colorado opened a 31-20 lead at halftime, hitting four threepointers in the last 3:55 of the period, including two by Siewert during a 9-0 burst.
The surge carried Colorado to a 15-point advantage but Travis had a couple of layups, converting one after a steal in the final moments of the period, to narrow the gap a bit.
The Buffaloes are poised for a strong finish, completing a sweep of their three-game homestand. They have five regular-season games remaining — three on the road — but seem to be playing their best basketball down the stretch.
Colorado outrebounded Stanford 42-38 and also came up with several offensive rebounds in the late going that led to second-chance points for the Buffaloes as they sought to stifle Stanford’s comeback bid.
Said Pickens: “Unfortunately, we didn’t rebound the way we need to and they crushed us on the boards and they were able to get second-chance points, which ended up killing us. I think our effort was great.”
Colorado sophomore guard Deleon Brown watched the game from the bench with his arm in a sling after he fractured his left hand in a collision during practice last week. He is out indefinitely.
Stanford plays at Cal on Sunday.