Men's Basketball Tops Colorado, 71-61

BOULDER, Colo. - Jamaal Tinsley had trouble breathing and his Iowa State teammates had trouble making anything beyond 15 feet.

Their problems were nothing compared to Colorado's.

Martin Rancik had 19 points and 13 rebounds as No. 15 Iowa State held Colorado to one of its worst shooting performances of the season in a 71-61 victory over the Buffaloes on Wednesday night.

Colorado, fifth in the nation in scoring (85.4 points per game), missed 16 straight shots during a 10-minute stretch of the second half and finished the game 15-of-46. If not for a late lay-up and a dunk, the Buffs would have been under 30 percent.

"We were never really comfortable with the combinations we had on the floor," Colorado coach Ricardo Patton said. "It was just a bad performance."

Rancik, who scored 19 against Colorado two weeks ago, had no such trouble, hitting 8 of 10 shots. Tinsley, with the aid of an inhaler, added 20 points and Jake Sullivan had 14 to help the Cyclones (18-3, 6-2 Big 12) keep the pressure on conference-leading Kansas.

"I couldn't breathe," Tinsley said. "I kept going for water. I kept going for (the inhaler). I just had to play through it. I had a whole lot of trouble last year. Same thing."

Stephane Pelle had 18 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Buffs (13-8, 3-5), who played for the first time since a plane crash killed two Oklahoma State players flying home from a game in Boulder last Saturday.

Before the game, a 30-second moment of silence was observed to remember the 10 people who died in the crash. Despite the lackluster performance, Colorado refused to use the proximity of the tragedy as an excuse.

"We've faced good teams and great defenses," Pelle said. "The only thing to look at is us."

Using an aggressive man-to-man defense, the Cyclones held Colorado to two field goals over the first 11 minutes of the second half and outscored the Buffs 26-10 during that stretch to build a 22-point lead.

"We knew the first four minutes were the key," Rancik said. "We couldn't let them get in the game."

D.J. Harrison broke Colorado's 0-for-16 spell with a short jumper that sparked a 7-0 run, but Colorado got no closer than the final score and lost to Iowa State at home for the first time since 1996.

"We weren't favored to win here, so it's a great win," Cyclones coach Larry Eustachy said. "We have a way we have to play and an effort we have to put out there. We did that tonight, and that's why we won."

Neither team could do much from the outside as Iowa State was 3-for-16 from 3-point range, while Colorado was 1-for-8.

Rancik nullified Iowa State's perimeter struggles by dominating inside, much to Eustachy's approval.

"Coach has been really hard on me, and telling me to go hard to the boards," he said. "He told me to slow down and look for my shot. Be patient. If it's not there, kick it out and start over."

Colorado led by five early but managed just one field goal over the final 10 minutes of the first half and trailed 34-28 at the break.

Iowa State, third nationally in 3-point shooting (43.8 percent), was 0-for-7 from long range before halftime. Rancik countered by going 6-for-6 with 15 points.

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Players Mentioned

Martin Rancik

Martin Rancik

Jake Sullivan

Jake Sullivan

Jamaal Tinsley

Jamaal Tinsley

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Iowa State University Athletics