Fast break
Why the Buffs won: It was a superb game offensively for CU, as the Buffs shot .596 overall while going 9-for-15 on 3-pointers.
Three stars
1. Bangot Dak: The junior forward went 8-for-10 with a team-leading 18 points.
2. Sebastian Rancik. The sophomore did a little bit of everything, going 5-for-9 from the field with 15 points, seven rebounds and a career-high five assists.
3. Barrington Hargress. With apologies to Felix Kossaras and his career-high 17 points, it was Hargress who sparked CU’s attack, recording 13 points and nine assists without a turnover.
Up next: CU hits the road for its first games away from the Events Center, taking on San Francisco on Thursday in the first of two games at the Acrisure Holiday Classic in Palm Desert, California.
The best start of the season had disintegrated by the middle of the second half. And an upset loss that would undermine the early momentum put together by the Colorado men’s basketball team was a very real possibility.
Overall, it was a step backward defensively for the Buffaloes. Yet thanks to a strong response at crunch time, it wasn’t nearly enough of a step backward to prevent CU from remaining undefeated.
The Buffs answered a strong challenge from UC Davis with a late dominant surge, pulling away from the visiting Aggies for a 95-79 victory on Friday night at the CU Events Center.
“Stay together and get situated defensively,” point guard Barrington Hargress said about the Buffs’ late surge. “We understand how talented we are offensively. A lot of our talks in the huddle was really how can we get situated defensively and make sure that we’re just imposing our will on the defensive end.”
CU jumped to a 10-0 lead out of the gate and led by 13 points late in the first half before the Aggies gradually chipped away at the deficit, cutting the Buffs’ lead to four by halftime.
UC Davis took its first lead at 58-57 and led 63-59 with 10 minutes, 21 seconds remaining before the Buffs scored 10 straight points in what turned into a 14-2 run that gave CU the lead for good. Once the Aggies took their four-point lead, the Buffs outscored UC Davis 36-16 the rest of the way.
“I thought our guys grinded it out,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said. “We started switching the ball-screens there down the stretch, because our ball-screen defense was breaking down a little bit.”
While Boyle and his staff surely will be focused on a defense that allowed UC Davis to shoot .517 — the third time in five games CU’s opponent has shot at least 51% — it was another splendid game offensively for the Buffs.
Five players scored in double-figures, with Bangot Dak leading the way with 18 points on an 8-for-10 showing from the floor. The Buffs finished with 24 assists, their most since recording 27 assists in a win against Florida in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, while committing just 10 turnovers. CU shot a season-high .596, going 9-for-15 on 3-pointers and 18-for-21 at the free throw line. The Buffs have shot 50% in all five games so far, the first time they’ve accomplished that feat since shooting at least 50% in the first seven games of the 1985-86 season.
“Another good win,” Boyle said. “We finished it out strong, but we’ve got a lot of room for improvement with this group. And it starts at you know what end of the floor. It’s not our offense. Twenty-four assists, 10 turnovers, score 95 points, and we’re doing that with a lot of bad possessions. We’re doing that with a lot of bad shots. We still have room to grow on that end of the floor, too. It’s not like we’re in midseason form offensively. We sure as hell not there defensively.”
Colorado 95, UC Davis 79
UC DAVIS (4-2)
Rocak 6-7 5-5 19, Suljanovic 2-6 0-0 5, Cooper 6-8 2-2 14, Sevilla 1-7 0-0 2, Wilson 8-15 2-2 21, Chappell 3-8 0-0 7, Fagbemi 3-4 0-0 7, Stokes 1-4 0-0 2, Rawlins 1-1 0-0 2, Amzil 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-60 9-9 79.
COLORADO (5-0)
Dak 8-10 2-3 18, Rancik 5-9 4-4 15, Malone 1-2 0-0 3, Hargress 5-7 2-2 13, Kossaras 5-7 4-6 17, Johnson 2-4 2-2 8, Michaeli 4-9 2-2 10, Sanders 3-6 0-0 6, Holland 1-3 2-2 5, Inman 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 34-57 18-21 95.
Halftime: Colorado 43-39; 3-point field goals: UC Davis 8-24 (Wilson 3-5, Rocak 2-3, Fagbemi 1-1, Suljanovic 1-3, Chappell 1-5, Stokes 0-1, Cooper 0-2, Sevilla 0-4); Colorado 9-15 (Kossaras 3-5, Johnson 2-2, Holland 1-1, Malone 1-1, Rancik 1-2, Hargress 1-3, Michaeli 0-1). Rebounds: UC Davis 26 (Cooper 9); Colorado 29 (Rancik 7). Assists: UC Davis 16 (Fagbemi 6); Colorado 24 (Hargress 9). Turnovers: UC Davis 12 (Cooper 3, Sevilla 3, Wilson 3); Total fouls: UC Davis 19, Colorado 12. A: 5,209.
