The Colorado men’s basketball team (2-0) outlasted the Northern Colorado Bears (1-1) in a double-overtime thriller on Friday.
Regulation ended at 67-67 before two overtime periods resulting in the final score, 90-88, in favor of CU. Both teams met late-game foul trouble and Colorado knocked down 72% (18-of-25) of its free throws in the second half and overtime, sealing the victory.
“I’d rather win ugly than lose pretty and we won a little bit ugly tonight,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said in his postgame statement.
“Ugly” was an accurate way to state this game's trend. Colorado had a whopping 21 turnovers, a problem it has been working through to start the season. Another issue for CU this game was defensive rebounding and getting stops. Another problem for the Buffs’ was UNCo’s shooting, knocking down 43.2% of its field goals as well as making 13/36 shots from the perimeter.
“We had opportunities to close that thing out but we couldn’t get stops,” Boyle said.
CU won the opening tipoff to start the game and Andrej Jakimovski got downhill and drew a foul at the rim to open the Buffs’ scoring. The game then began to take a back-and-forth rhythm as both teams were slow to start scoring and found themselves tangled at 10 a piece at the 14-minute mark.
UNCo went on a 5-0 run, knocking down a layup and a 3-pointer in rapid succession. CU marched back and claimed the lead at 17-15 and the game took back its form with alternating play from both ends. The Buffs were consistent in their high press, a defensive strategy that the Bears had a hard time figuring out, often forcing UNCo into timeouts or full-court turnovers.
Trends continued until Elijah Malone missed a layup, got his own rebound, then put up another layup, this time falling. The crowd noise levels rose for the all-effort play by the graduate transfer from Grace College (Indiana).
Yet, the Buffs trailed by four heading into the four-minute media timeout. Coming out of the break, Colorado came out strong in its press defense, disrupting the Bears' tempo. CU then took the lead after an Assane Diop 3-pointer, the first of his career, making the game 30-28, Colorado’s first lead since 15-10 at the 12-minute mark. Both teams traded buckets until the half ended 32-30 in favor of Colorado.
The thrill began late in the second half. UNCo began the half with possession and a quick layup to tie the game at 32. CU had a hard time on offense in the second half. Ball movement was good but the Buffs weren’t getting the shots they were looking for. It was a bad nod to the Buffs’ ‘Assist Game,’ a drill they’ve practiced in the week leading up to the game. The drill is essentially just a scrimmage, but the only way to score is by getting an assist.
“We’ve played what we call the ‘assist game’ [in practice]...Then we come out tonight and play like this,” Boyle said of the team's nine total assists.
The black and gold also could not get the tough shots to fall for them. Colorado found itself down 46-42 heading into the 12-minute media mark. Coming out of the break the Bears knocked down a quick layup, in which Colorado’s RJ Smith responded with a 3-pointer.
With 10 minutes to go a jumbotron ad announced to the stadium, “If the opposing team misses two consecutive free throws in the second half, you can get a free shack single tomorrow!”
In Colorado's “perfect timing” fashion, UNCo’s Marcell McCreary was sent to the line after a CU foul. The stadium erupted after McCreary missed his first free throw. Shake Shack tifos, signs and head cutouts all rose from the student section behind the backboard in an attempt to distract McCreary from his second free throw. McCreary missed the second and CU’s Trevor Baskin took the ball coast-to-coast for an and-one layup. Momentum was all on the Buffs’ side.
However, the momentum was not enough to shake the Bears. The game found itself tied at 54 before Colorado took a six-point lead with just over a minute to play. Many fans began exiting the stadium to beat traffic, expecting a Colorado win.
The Bears did not take this light-heartedly and got down the court for a converted and-one to bring the game within one possession.
With seconds counting down after Julian Hammond III free throws, an UNCo layup and a Javon Ruffin turnover, the Bears had an open three-point opportunity which was off the mark. McCreary got the rebound and ran out to the corner for a heavily contested prayer in front of his own bench. The shot sank with 0.5 of a second in regulation.
Overtime began and the Bears found themselves at the free-throw line off a Malone foul, his first of the game. UNCo missed the front end of the 1-and-1, and Ruffin came down the court and knocked down CU’s biggest 3-pointer of the game, extending its lead to 70-67.
The Bears responded by drawing a foul and knocking down both free throws to bring the game within a point. Malone then hit a mid-range jumper re-extending their lead to 72-69. Both teams traded baskets until the Buffs had possession with 17.6 seconds left. Boyle called a timeout trying to draw up a game-winning play, which ultimately ended up in a missed jump shot. That concluded the first overtime period at 76 a piece.
The Buffs won the second overtime tip, and Hammond got to the rack to draw a foul and go 2-of-2 from the line. The Bears came down quickly, tying the game at 78. Ruffin came down the court and made a beautiful delayed layup off the glass and UNCo responded with a 3-pointer. Both teams traded buckets, but the Bears were hitting 3s and the Buffs settled for anything inside the arc. The Buffaloes found themselves trailing 87-88 with a minute-30 to go.
As it did all night, UNCo sent Baskin to the line. He knocked down both free throws to give the Buffs the lead again. The Buffs’ late free throws are what ultimately won them the game. The Bears hopped into panic mode after the next possession and intentionally fouled Hammond, where he made one of his two shots at the line. However, this was enough to outlast the Bears as McCreary failed to hit the game-winning 3-point attempt at the end of double-overtime.
Colorado’s performance was not one it will be looking forward to recreating, especially against its tough Big 12 schedule, but a win is a win.
The Buffaloes host Cal State Fullerton (0-2) next Wednesday at 7 p.m. MT (ESPN+).
Cover photo by Owen Lockwood/Sko Buffs Sports
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