Boulder, Co. ? 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.
Silas would have set a career high had he not missed 6-of-9 free throws.
Richard Roby added 15 points for the Buffs.
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 three-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 three-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’ three-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.
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.