Fast break
Why the Buffs won: CU balanced its defensive struggles with a strong game offensively, shooting .508 overall with an 11-for-23 mark on 3-pointers, while also committing only nine turnovers.
Three stars
1. CU’s Sebastian Rancik. The sophomore forward went 11-for-12 on free throws and finished with career-highs in points (24) and assists (four).
2. CU’s Isaiah Johnson. It didn’t quite equal the 24-point second-half eruption Johnson put together in his debut agaisnt Montana State, but he still scored 13 of his 17 points after halftime, shaking off an 0-for-3 start from long range to go 3-for-3 from the arc in the second half and overtime.
3. EWU’s Isaiah Moses. A former teammate of CU’s Barrington Hargress, Moses went 12-for-21 with 30 points and five assists to lead the Eagles.
Up next: CU gets a visit from former assistant Kim English as his Providence Friars visit Friday (7 p.m., ESPN+).
The continued struggles of Colorado’s defense isn’t sitting well with head coach Tad Boyle.
Yet on several occasions during the preseason, Boyle said he hoped his new-look CU men’s basketball team would experience its growing pains through victories, instead of during crippling early-season defeats.
So far, the Buffaloes are 2-for-2 in escaping upset bids with narrow victories.
The Buffaloes prevailed in a wild back-and-forth nonconference battle with Eastern Washington, posting a 102-97 overtime victory Saturday afternoon at the CU Events Center.
It certainly wasn’t a picturesque win, as the Eagles shot .597 overall with a 9-for-16 mark (.563) on 3-pointers. And that was after Montana State managed to shoot .518 against the Buffs in the season-opener.
“We have to have more pride, and our guys, they have to feel about (defense) the way that I feel about it,” Boyle said. “We’ve got some really good coaches on this staff. Really good offensive coaches. Now, defensive coaches, we’ve got to take blame on this, too. Yeah, our players aren’t guarding, but they’re not guarding because we’re not making them guard.
“Our offense isn’t our problem. Our problem is we’ve got no pride on the other end. Collectively, or individually.”
The game was tied 85-85 after regulation, and the Buffs received a huge break when Eastern Washington’s Straton Rogers was called for a pair of technical fouls with 3 minutes, 9 seconds remaining in overtime.
Sebastian Rancik and Isaiah Johnson promptly hit two free throws apiece to give CU a 90-85 lead, but the Eagles rallied again, tying the game at 90-90 on a three-point play from Johnny Radford with 1:50 to go.
But Johnson and Elijah Malone answered with back-to-back 3-pointers, giving the Buffs a six-point lead, and after struggling at the free-throw line through the bulk of the game, CU went 11-for-14 at the line in the extra session to secure the win and improve to 2-0.
Rancik led the Buffs with a career-high 24 points, going 11-for-12 on free throws while also recording a career-high four assists.
“The main thing, starting with myself, is the defensive intensity, letting one through five see that,” CU guard Barrington Hargress said. “And then just understanding that since we’re such a deep team offensively, there shouldn’t be that much on our mind offensively. It should be more giving ourselves effort on the defensive end and let defense create our offense.”
While the Buffs again struggled defensively, it was another encouraging performance offensively. After going just 3-for-12 on 3-pointers during the opener against Montana State, the Buffs went 11-for-23 from the arc against Eastern Washington, with a 5-for-9 mark after halftime. CU committed only eight turnovers in regulation and nine total, and won the game at the free-throw line. The Buffs shot just .692 at the line, but the sheer volume — CU went 27-for-39 — far outpaced the Eagles’ 14-for-19 showing on free throws.
The Buffs shot .508, giving them two straight 50% shooting games to start the season after posting a .519 mark against Montana State.
“We knew there’s growing pains. I’d much rather learn from a win than a loss,” Boyle said. “But I told our team this week, and I’ll say it right now, maybe it will take a loss to wake these dudes up. I don’t want that to happen. Our players don’t want that to happen. Our fans don’t want that to happen. But maybe thatap what it will take. Maybe then they’d wake up. Because right now, they ain’t listening to me.”
Colorado 102, Eastern Washington 97, OT
EASTERN WASHINGTON (0-3)
Huie 4-6 0-1 8, Marquardt 4-5 2-2 13, Moses 12-21 3-4 30, Radford 3-5 2-3 10, Rogers 3-3 0-0 6, Hamilton 6-11 6-7 18, Thomas 2-2 0-0 5, Powell 0-2 0-0 0, Scherer 1-3 0-0 2, Anderson 2-3 0-0 4, Winkel 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 37-62 14-19 97.
COLORADO (2-0)
Dak 3-9 2-6 8, Rancik 5-13 11-12 24, Malone 3-6 0-0 7, Hargress 6-10 1-2 14, Kossaras 2-3 3-4 8, Johnson 4-8 6-6 17, Michaeli 4-5 3-6 11, Sanders 2-2 1-3 5, Holland 0-3 0-0 0, Inman 3-4 0-0 8. Totals 32-63 27-39 102.
Halftime: Colorado 41-39; 3-point field goals: Eastern Washington 9-16 (Marquardt 3-4, Moses 3-5, Radford 2-2, Thomas 1-1, Anderson 0-1, Powell 0-1, Hamilton 0-2); Colorado 11-23 (Johnson 3-6, Rancik 3-8, Inman 2-3, Hargress 1-1, Kossaras 1-1, Malone 1-1, Dak 0-1, Holland 0-2).Fouled out: Rogers, Kossaras. Rebounds: Eastern Washington 29 (Hamilton 8); Colorado 34 (Dak 9). Assists: Eastern Washington 11 (Moses 5); Colorado 16 (Rancik, Hargress 4). Turnovers: Eastern Washington 11 (Huie 3); Colorado 9 (Kossaras 3). Total fouls: Eastern Washington 23, Colorado 20. A: 5,289.
