No. 5 Houston takes control late, extends Colorado skid

J'Wan Roberts scored 20 points, LJ Cryer and Terrance Arceneaux added 15 points apiece, and No. 5 Houston went on the road to earn a 69-59 over Colorado at Boulder, Colo., on Saturday.

Milos Uzan contributed 12 points for Houston (19-4, 11-1 Big 12), which has won 15 of its last 16 games.

Julian Hammond III had 22 points and was the only Colorado player to score in double figures.

The Buffaloes (9-14, 0-12) have lost 12 in a row for the first time since the end of the 2008-09 season, and they are two losses shy of matching their worst start to a conference schedule since going 0-14 in the Big 8 in 1985-86.

The Cougars opened a 39-30 lead just over two minutes into the second half but Hammond made a pair of 3-pointers to get Colorado within 39-36 with 14:44 remaining.

Houston extended the lead to 48-39 on a layup by Roberts midway through the second half, but the Buffaloes again responded with a pair. 3-pointers. Hammond made his fifth of the second half, and Bangot Dak made one to make it a one-possession game at 48-45.

Arceneaux made two free throws and Uzan hit a layup to stretch the advantage to 52-45 with 7:30 left.

The Cougars tried to pull away but the Buffaloes kept answering each time. Colorado pulled within 54-52 with 5:49 left when Andrej Jakimovski was fouled on a 3-point attempt and hit all three free throws.

The game stayed tight, with each team hitting consecutive buckets, and Roberts split two free throws to give the Cougars a 61-56 lead. Colorado missed on the other end and Roberts hit two straight layups to make it a nine-point lead with 1:52 left.

After Sebastian Rancik missed a layup, Roberts fed Mylik Wilson for an alley-oop to make it an 11-point lead and Houston closed it out.

--Field Level Media