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2011 Big 12 Tournament: Colorado Advances, Defeats Iowa State 77-75

(Sports Network) – Alec Burks scored 29 points, Cory Higgins had 16 and Colorado ended the game with a big run to beat Iowa State, 77-75, in the first round of the Big 12 Championship.

Levi Knutson added 12 points for the fifth-seeded Buffaloes (20-12), who moved on to face No. 4 seed Kansas State in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

Jake Anderson poured in 33 points for Iowa State (16-16) and Diante Garrett had 19.

The Cyclones took a 70-64 lead on Jamie Vanderbeken’s free throw with three minutes left, but Colorado closed with a 13-5 burst to win the game.

During the run, Burks completed a three-point play to tie the score and then hit a jumper to make it 74-72, giving the Buffaloes a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

Not that Iowa State didn’t have chances down the stretch.

During one series, with the Cyclones trailing 75-72, Vanderbeken hit the front of the rim with a long three-point try several feet behind the arc. Iowa State kept possession, but Garrett’s pull-up jumper in the lane rattled in and out.

Andre Roberson and Higgins both made one free throw in the final 15.6 seconds as Colorado hung on.

Photographs by jamesbrandon, jdtornow, phlezk, flygraphix, mcdlttx, tomasland, and literalbarrage used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.