National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Colorado 76, Oregon 53
When: 9:00 PM ET, Thursday, March 7, 2013
Where: Coors Events Center, Boulder, Colorado
Officials: # Joe DeRosa, # Mike Greenstein, # Frank Harvey
Attendance: 11013
Colorado 76, No. 25 Oregon 53: Freshman forward Xavier Johnson scored a career-high 22 points and the host Buffaloes rolled to an easy win that prevented the Ducks from clinching the Pac-12 regular-season title.

Spencer Dinwiddie added 17 points for Colorado (20-9, 10-7 Pac-12), which has won 20 games in three straight seasons for the first time in school history. The Buffaloes cruised despite being without national rebounding leader Andre Roberson, sidelined with what school officials described as a viral illness.

Arsalan Kazemi, Johnathan Loyd and Ben Carter all scored 10 points apiece to pace the Ducks (23-7, 12-5), who are tied for first place with UCLA. Oregon will win the crown Saturday if it defeats Utah no matter how the Bruins fare that day.

Colorado pulled away early and led 20-6 on Johnson’s free throw with 9:19 left in the first half. The Ducks went 7 1/2 minutes between field goals and later pulled within 27-18 on Damyean Dotson’s basket with 5:07 left in the half before the Buffaloes closed with a 10-3 burst for a 37-21 halftime lead.

The onslaught continued in the second half and the lead reached 52-29 on a dunk by Jeremy Adams with 13:25 to go. Colorado’s advantage topped out at 25 points.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Roberson’s upcoming status is unclear and there are published reports saying he contracted mononucleosis. … Oregon’s Waverly Austin was handed a flagrant 1 foul for delivering a low blow to Colorado’s Shane Harris-Tunks with 12:31 remaining. … Johnson hit all seven of his field-goal attempts, including three 3-pointers.
Top Game Performances
 
Oregon   Colorado
Ben Carter 10 Scoring Xavier Johnson 22
Johnathan Loyd 2 Assists Spencer Dinwiddie 6
Ben Carter 6 Rebounds Josh Scott 8
Arsalan Kazemi 4 Free Throws Made Spencer Dinwiddie 9
Ben Carter 2 Steals Askia Booker 2
Waverly Austin 1 Blocks Josh Scott 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Oregon 53 37.5 2-12 9-22 7 31 3 5 15
Colorado 76 48.1 7-16 19-24 11 35 1 6 13