BOULDER, Colo., Jan. 20 -- Ricardo Patton has had quite a week. He received a sudden promotion to interim head coach for Colorado after Joe Harrington resigned Tuesday. He then had to prepare for the third- ranked Kansas Jayhawks. So, excuse Patton if he has lost a little perspective. After the Buffaloes missed a chance at a major upset Saturday, losing to Kansas, 80-78, Patton issued an ultimatum worthy of the former U.S. general: victory or death. 'I don't accept moral victories,' Patton said. 'We still lost the ballgame. I told the guys in the game of life there is a first place and a second place and second place is dead.' Scot Pollard scored 18 points and the Jayhawks stepped up their defense by holding Colorado scoreless over the final 2 1/2 minutes, spoiling Patton's coaching debut. He had been an assistant at Colorado for three years. Raef LaFrentz scored 16 points and Jacque Vaughn added 15 for the Jayhawks (14-1, 2-0 Big Eight), who erased a 78-74 deficit with 2:30 to go and beat Colorado for the 12th straight time. 'I'm proud of the effort,' Patton said. 'We put ourselves in position to win. If we continue to work, we'll always give ourselves a chance.' Martice Moore scored 29 points for the Buffaloes (5-10, 0-4), who have lost seven straight games. Colorado has lost its first four conference games for the first time since 1992-93. Moore, who was not in the starting lineup after arriving late to a team meeting this morning, made two free throws that gave Colorado a 78- 74 lead with 2:46 to play, but freshman Paul Pierce scored on a drive and Kansas forced a jump ball 26 seconds later.
Pollard scored inside and was fouled, and his free throw gave the Jayhawks a 79-78 lead with 1:49 remaining. 'Martice didn't start because he was late to a team breakfast this morning,' Patton said. 'He had a good excuse, but you have to be firm and fair. What I say I mean and what I mean I say.' One minute later, Pollard was fouled again. He made the first and missed the second but Kansas grabbed the rebound. Colorado committed a turnover on its next possession and missed a shot in the final seconds after Ryan Robertson missed two free throws for Kansas with eight seconds left. Vaughn had 10 assists and Pollard grabbed nine rebounds for Kansas, which shot 51 percent (26-of-51) from the field, including 56 percent (14-of-25) in the second half. Mack Tuck scored 17 points and Chauncey Billups added 15 and nine assists for Colorado, which shot 47 percent (29-of-62), including 54 percent (14-of-26) in the second half. The Buffs led, 41-37, at halftime and opened their largest margin of the second half at 62-54 on Moore's three-pointer with 10:54 remaining. But Pierce made a three-pointer and Vaughn and LaFrentz sank two free throws each to cut the deficit to 62-61 with 9:24 left. Colorado rebuilt its lead to 73-67 on a layup by Matt Daniel with 4:37 to go. But Jerod Haase and Tuck traded three-pointers before layups by B.J. Williams and LaFrentz made it 76-74 with 2:58 to play.
