Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
3-0,0-0Big 12
Cal State Fullerton
0-3,0-0Big West
Buffs Roll Past Cal State Fullerton, Improve To 3-0
November 13, 2024 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Colorado drained 12 3-pointers and the Buffaloes ran away from Cal State Fullerton in the second half Wednesday night for an 83-53 win at the CU Events Center.
Tad Boyle's Buffs improved to 3-0 with the win while the Titans dropped to 0-3.
The Buffs led by just six at the half, 35-29, but used a decisive 16-6 run midway through the second half to push their lead to 20, then slowly built the cushion down the stretch.
CU's Andrej Jakimovski, a grad transfer from Washington State, tied his career best with five 3-pointers and finished with 17 points. Freshman Sebastian Rancik came off the bench to tally 13, Julian Hammond III had 11 points and four assists and Elijah Malone had nine points and four rebounds. Assane Diop led the Buffs on the boards with eight rebounds.
Donovan Oday led the Titans with 13 points.
Colorado finished with a season-best 22 assists while shooting 30-for-53 from the field (56.6 percent), including 12-for-27 from long range. The Buffs also had a 38-28 edge on the boards while holding the Titans to 31 percent shooting (18-for-58), including 2-for-17 from beyond the arc.
"You win by 30 at home and you defend pretty well, you rebound the ball pretty well, a lot to be pleased with," said Boyle, whose Buffs are now 99-8 in non-conference home games in his tenure. "I thought we really took a step forward offensively tonight in terms of our ball movement and the ball not sticking in people's hands. We had 22 assists on 30 baskets, which is phenomenal. We'll take that every night."
HOW IT HAPPENED: Colorado led from the outset, getting a Jakimovski 3-pointer to start the game, his first of four treys in the opening half.
The Titans managed to stay close to the Buffs over the first 10 minutes before CU finally pulled away, using a 9-2 run to turn a 20-17 lead into a 29-19 edge with 7:17 to play. Jakimovski had five points in the surge, including his fourth 3-pointer of the half, and Rancik added a bucket.
But CSU Fullerton refused to go away quietly. The Titans slowly chipped away at Colorado's lead and with 2:54 to play in the half, they pulled to within four, 33-29, on a Keith Richard bucket.
Both teams went cold over the final two minutes, with the Buffs coming up empty on five straight possessions, including a pair of turnovers.
But CU finally ended the drought with an Elijah Malone basket with 16 seconds remaining to take a 35-29 lead into the break.
"We shot the ball well," Boyle said. "It's nice to see Andrej come out and make a few and get himself going, because we've been struggling from three a little bit consistently, but we got great looks."
Jakimovski had 14 points in the opening half, including four 3-pointers, while Rancik added six and Julian Hammond III chipped in five. But CU also had eight turnovers in the half, leading to four points for the Titans.
"We still have to figure out our turnover issues," Boyle said. "We just find new ways to turn it over."
But the Buffs took control early in the second half, jumping out with a 7-0 run to start the period. Malone scored inside, Jakimovski hit his fifth 3-pointer of the game and Malone recorded a follow dunk to give the Buffs a 42-29 lead less than two minutes into the half.
That was the biggest lead the Buffs could muster over the next six minutes as the Titans managed to pull within 10 at a couple different junctures.
But CU then blew the game open with a 16-6 run, fueled by four 3-pointers.
Hammond pushed CU's lead back to 13 with his second 3-pointer of the game, 52-39, before RJ Smith knocked down a pair of treys to give Colorado a 15-point edge, 58-43, with just under eight minutes to play. Malone then scored inside and Javon Ruffin drained a 3-pointer to give the Buffs a 63-43 lead with 7:09 to play.
"We want to play fast but we don't want to play out of control," said Hammond, who had four assists and no turnovers to go with his 11 points.
Colorado then pushed its lead to as much as 30 down the stretch to improve to 3-0 on the season.
Eleven different Buffs played double-digit minutes, with no player on the floor for more than 22 minutes.
"Our depth is good for us," Jakimovski said. "The minutes that we play out there, we can give everything we have, and then sub on and sub out and rest and come back and be at maximum every time."
Boyle also singled out the play of Diop, who did not take a shot in his 19 minutes on the floor but finished with a team-best eight rebounds with CU a plus-25 when he was on the floor.
"That is the epitome of being unselfish and being a team guy," Boyle said. "It's important that I mention it … There's a selflessness about him, and he plays extremely hard, and he's just a great teammate that we can all learn from."
DECISIVE MOMENT: The Buffs' lead was still at just 10 with just 12:30 left to play. But CU put together a 16-6 run over the next five minutes and the Buffs' lead never dipped below 20 again.
WHAT IT MEANS: Colorado is now 130-39 in non-conference games under Boyle, including a 99-8 record in home non-conference games.
NEXT UP: The Buffs wrap up their four-game homestand on Sunday with a noon game against Harvard at the CU Events Center (ESPN+).
