Colorado 73, Nebraska 69

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) Kal Bay's 3-pointer with 25 seconds remaining lifted Colorado to a 73-69 win over Nebraska on Saturday in Buffaloes coach Ricardo Patton's final home game.<br/><br/>Patton announced

Saturday, March 3rd 2007, 4:10 pm

By: News On 6

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) Kal Bay's 3-pointer with 25 seconds remaining lifted Colorado to a 73-69 win over Nebraska on Saturday in Buffaloes coach Ricardo Patton's final home game.

Patton announced on Oct. 25 that he would step down as coach at the conclusion of the season. He ranks second on the Buffaloes' all-time coaching list with 184 career wins.

Richard Roby scored 23 points and Dominique Coleman added 15 as Colorado (7-19, 3-13) ended a six-game losing streak. Coleman grabbed 15 rebounds to tie a career high.

Aleks Maric had 22 points and 12 rebounds for Nebraska (16-13, 5-10) and Marcus Perry added 17. Charles Richardson had 8-assists.

The Cornhuskers trailed by as many as 10 midway through the 2nd-half, but took the lead on a 3-pointer by Perry with 1:36 remaining.

Coleman, playing in his final home game, hit a reverse layup to restore the lead for Colorado. Nebraska's Sek Henry tied the score at 69 with 38 seconds left by hitting one of two free throws, setting the stage for Bay's winning 3-pointer. Jermyl Jackson-Wilson iced the win with a free throw with 6.4 seconds left.

Patton was presented with a plaque for outstanding leadership before the game by athletic director Mike Bohn.

When the lights in the Coors Events Center unexplainably dimmed early in the 1st-half, former Colorado player Billy Boidock filled the time by telling the crowd a story about Patton.

Patton guided the Buffaloes to two NCAA tournament appearances and four NIT berths in his 11-plus years in charge. He took over on an interim basis midway through the 1995-96 and then in his first full season in charge in 1996-97, Patton, behind the play of guard Chauncey Billups, had the Buffaloes in the NCAA tournament for the first time in 27 years. The team's 22 wins that season were most in school history.

"Over time, he has shown the ability to continue to find ways to build the stature and strength of the program nationally," Bohn said. "He's provided a strong platform which the program can build on from there."

When asked if he was any closer to naming a replacement for Patton, Bohn said, "The process is progressing."

Colorado's Xavier Silas and Nebraska's Ryan Anderson were both ejected after an altercation with 8:22 remaining in the 1st- half. They were wrestling for the ball and it escalated from there. Patton came onto the court and pulled Silas off Anderson. Both had scored 7-points before the ejection.