Buffaloes top Lancers to obtain best season start in 76 years

Freshman guard Isaiah Johnson leads the Buffaloes in scoring with an average of 15.1 points per game. (Photo by Kekoa Brown/Sko Buffs Sports)

The Colorado Buffaloes (8-0) defeated the California Baptist Lancers (7-1) 78-70 on Monday, recording the best start to a season for the program since 1949 in the process.

The Buffaloes started slow against the Lancers, something that has become all too common despite their 8-0 start. While they scored the opening bucket, California Baptist went on a run to move out to a 10-3 lead. 

CBU’s hot start came off the back of aggressiveness at the rim, which created great looks early in the shot clock and forced the Buffaloes into foul trouble. 

The Buffaloes finished the first half with nine fouls, which led to seven made free throws for the Lancers.

To add insult to injury, the Buffaloes couldn’t buy a bucket in the early going. They saw a scoring drought of 8:38 that allowed CBU to take an 18-5 lead with 12:08 remaining in the first half. Lancers' leading scorer Dominique Daniels Jr. led the way as he finished the night with 25 points, 10 of which came in the first half.

“We came out flat,” Colorado forward Sebastian Rancik said postgame. “We have got to be better, all five of us…It’s our responsibility to start the game, coach [Boyle] entrusts us with that, and we’ve got to be better.”

Center Elijah Malone’s drought-ending layup initially generated little momentum. The Lancers expanded on their lead to 23-9 off the backs of three vicious dunks from forwards Thomas Ndong and Bradey Henige.

However, this was the Buffaloes’ turning point in the first half. 

The foul troubles that initially plagued Colorado became the Achilles’ heel of the Lancers with under eight minutes to play. They finished the first half with 10 fouls as the Buffs knocked down nine free throws and pieced together a 7-0 run. 

The CU Events Center roared to life as Rancik cut the Lancer lead to single digits with a three-pointer. 

A pair of tough layups from CU guard Isaiah Johnson tied the game at 32, but despite the Boulder crowd’s potent volume, the Lancers hit one more layup to take a 34-32 lead into halftime.

“Credit to our guys,” Colorado head coach Tad Boyle said postgame. “Somehow, some way, I don’t know how…we were down two at halftime. I felt like we should’ve been down 20.”

Colorado came out of the locker room battling similar struggles to the first half. Malone turned the ball over on two of the Buffs’ first three possessions, the second of which led to two points for the Lancers. 

“Tonight was not Elijah Malone’s game,” Boyle said. “He just wasn’t himself. He wasn’t what he normally has been.”

While Rancik cut the lead to 41-39 with a clutch three, Colorado failed to maintain momentum once again. Forward Bangot Dak committed a flagrant foul on the Lancers' subsequent possession and Colorado was forced to recover.

The Buffaloes’ bench came to play in the second half, though, and provided their team with said recovery. Freshman forward Alon Michaeli added to his team’s three-point success with a shot to tie the game at 48. 

Colorado’s dynamic bench duo of Michaeli and Johnson took over the game, and sparked a Buffaloes comeback after the 13-minute mark. Johnson finished the night with 17 points while Michaeli scored 11 and had a team-high seven rebounds.

“We’re talking about [our connection] all the time off the court,” Johnson said. “...We’re just always communicating, even on the court. He’s a special player.” 

The play from the young Buffs allowed the veterans to capitalise and give Colorado the lead. Guard Barrington Hargress put CU out in front on a layup before an emphatic Dak block set up a second Hargress layup and a Lancers timeout. 

However, whatever adjustments were made in that timeout weren’t enough to recover CBU. The Lancers didn’t score for 6:29 while simultaneously committing a costly number of fouls. 

Colorado finished the night with 31 free-throw attempts, and despite only converting on 77.4 percent of them, those shots added 24 points to CU’s total.

Excluding a minor run in which the Lancers cut the lead to six points, the Buffaloes had them on their heels for the remainder of the game.

“I love this team, I really do, even though I was a little frustrated tonight,” Boyle added. “...I’m frustrated because my expectations are so high. I think our fans feel the same way now.”

Following the win, Colorado is now set to face the Colorado State Rams on Saturday. The rivalry matchup will take place in Fort Collins with tip-off set for 3 p.m. MT (CBS Sports).