BOULDER, Colo. - Askia Booker scored 17 points and his only bucket of the second half was a three-pointer that helped Colorado hold off Stanford 64-58 Sunday.
Playing short-handed for the second straight game with starter Rosco Allen out with a back injury, Stanford (16-9, 7-5 Pac-12) was unable to move ahead in the second half after tying it at 47-47.
Colorado (12-12, 5-7 Pac-12) snapped a three-game skid and avoided their first three-game home losing streak since 2008-09.
With the Buffaloes clinging to a four-point lead with less than three minutes left, Booker waved frantically from the right elbow after Xavier Talton somehow came down with a rebound while surrounded by three Cardinal players.
Booker took the pass and calmly sank a 3-pointer that gave Colorado a 58-51 lead with 2 1/2 minutes left.
Stefan Nastic, who scored a game-high 24 points, sank a pair of free throws a minute later to make it a five-point game. Chasson Randle added 14 points while Anthony Brown grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds.
Colorado owned a 48-39 edge on the glass, including an 18-9 advantage in offensive rebounds. Both teams struggled from the floor, with Stanford shooting 33.3 percent overall and 6-23 from distance while Colorado made 32.8 percent overall and knocked down 5-18 three-pointers.
The Cardinal pulled to 61-58 on Randle's pair of free throws with 21.4 seconds left, and Randle stole Xavier Johnson's inbounds pass but was called for an offensive foul when he bowled over Johnson as he raced for the hoop instead of setting up for a game-tying 3-pointer.
After a timeout, Tre'Shaun Fletcher inbounded to Josh Scott. He fed Talton, who was fouled and hit both free throws to make it 63-58 and secure the game.
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NOTES: Stanford suffered back-to-back losses for only the second time this season … The Cardinal leads the all-time series 9-7 but has dropped four in a row … Stanford trailed at halftime for the fifth straight game. The Cardinal has trailed by exactly six points in each of the last four contests … Chasson Randle has scored 2,142 career points, trailing only Todd Lichti (2,336) and Adam Keefe (2,319) in school history … Anthony Brown has led Stanford in rebounding 13 times this season. Brown has totaled double figures in rebounds eight times in his career … Stefan Nastic registered his fourth 20-point game of the season and fifth of his career … Colorado held a 25-0 edge in bench points … Up next for Stanford are three straight home games, beginning with the Feb. 21 rematch against California. The Cardinal won the first meeting 69-59 in Berkeley.
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Stanford Head Coach Johnny Dawkins
“The thing that hurt us was offensive rebounds. They had 18 offensive boards. It was a huge difference in the ball game because they were able to get second and third shot attempts.”
“The foul trouble with Nastic definitely hurts us. He’s our anchor in the middle and he boards for us. When he goes out (with foul trouble) that’s definitely a blow for us.”
“[Askia] Booker is one of the best guards in our conference so we just try to give him appropriate attention. We wanted to make sure we found where he was and stayed with him (in the second half)."
Colorado Head Coach Tad Boyle
“That was a relief. We needed that win bad. We got a chance to take a deep breath. What I liked about it is that I thought it was really a terrific team victory. Our bench played well. We had a lot of guys contribute. It’s nice, when your team’s been struggling, to see them rewarded for their hard work. Up until this point, this year, a lot of times we’ve been finding ways to lose games and tonight we found a way to win one."
The reason that our whole team is predicated on defense and rebounding is for games like this, when you shoot under 33 percent and you win the game. You find a way to win the game and that’s what they did. It showed great resolve. I really challenged them at halftime and the media timeouts in the second half about defense, defense, and defense. They just take that upon themselves to be a constant. Our offense will get better. I thought we got good shots. We just didn’t make them, but we’re not going to shoot 33 percent every time out.”
“I told them at the last media timeout, these games are won by teams and players who make plays. We have to make winning plays. That means getting stops, taking charges, getting loose balls and long rebounds, knocking down free throws. So, you’ve got to find a way to win games. We’ve found ways to lose them this year and today we found a way to win it. For that, I’m really happy for our guys. I think that locker room needed it and they deserved it. It’s nice to see them rewarded."