Buffs’ desert dominance extends unbeaten start with Acrisure Classic victory

Isaiah Johnson (2) hosts the Acrisure Championship trophy alongside teammates. (Photo by CUAthletics/CUMen'sBasketballX)

The Colorado Buffaloes (7-0) powered past the Washington Huskies (5-2) 81-68 on Friday afternoon in Palm Desert, CA, to win the Acrisure Holiday Classic Championship title.

The Buffs came out sizzling on both ends of the floor with a 10-2 run over the Huskies. Colorado had five of their players score in double digits. Junior forward Bangot Dak delivered an impressive performance, doing it all early on. Dak, who recorded his first career double-double, had 15 points and 11 rebounds and ended up taking home the tournament's most valuable player award.

Dak led in the opening by making the first points. He contributed by dishing an assist to allow Hargress to get to the rim, then blocked a shot that would account for one of his three blocks. BD also sent Washington into a timeout after knocking down a hushing three-pointer. 

Midway through the opening 20 minutes, Dak was involved in a hard collision in the paint that would result in him being sent to the locker room briefly and reportedly came out with a chipped tooth.

Colorado’s depth contributed greatly to this first tournament win since the MGM Main Event in Las Vegas in 2019-20. That season was also the last time the Buffaloes recorded a 7-0 start. Felix Kossaras and Sebastian Rancik both put up 11 points, and the bench, which has contributed 40 percent of the scoring this season, added 31 points. 

Throughout the first half, CU shot 55 percent and held the Huskies to 28 percent from the field. 

"When our team puts the Colorado name ahead of the name on the back of their jersey, really good things can happen," head coach Tad Boyle said. "And you can win championships.”

Washington remained quiet in the first half. Their scoring leader, senior Quimari Peterson, put up 18 points, while Desmond Claude added 14. They only hit one of six 3-point attempts, and endured an eight-shot drought, going into the half down 17.

Coming out of the break, the Huskies shifted the momentum with fiery shots from Peterson and an efficient showing from Frank Kepnang, putting up nine rebounds for Washington. With improved shooting in this half, they secured seven of 15 three-point attempts, and shot 93 percent from the line for the game.

Throughout the second, the Huskies were able to overcome the dominating Buffs after a 22-5 run. A 3-pointer from Washington's Jasir Rencher would tie up the game 52-52 with 11:41 remaining.

Instead of folding, Colorado regrouped. Sophomore guard Felix Kossaras halted the run with a three-point shot, sparking CU to get its rhythm back, breaking the tie. Kossaras added two more three-pointers, alongside freshman Alon Michaeli, who had a step-back three, bringing the Buffs’ lead up to seven with 5:56 remaining. 

The Huskies wore down and ran into some foul trouble with Wesley Yates III and Franck Kepnang. Even with CU seeing some foul trouble themselves, Colorado hit seven of eight from the line and regained a double-digit cushion. 

Two late highlight plays sealed the deal for the undefeated Buffs. The MVP of the tournament, Dak fed Kossaras for a two-handed slam with 1:33 remaining. Hargress punctuated the night with a rare dunk in transition.

“We've got a competitive group of guys," Boyle said. "They want to win, it's important to them, and we saw that this summer in Australia.”

The Buffaloes will return to the CU Events Center to take on the California Baptist Lancers on Monday at 7:00 p.m. MT (ESPN+).