Colorado
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Northern Colorado
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Buffs Top UNC In Two Overtimes To Give Boyle 300th Win At CU
November 08, 2024 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — It took two overtime periods, but Colorado finally gave head coach Tad Boyle his 300th victory as the Buffaloes head coach Friday with a 90-88 win over Northern Colorado at the CU Events Center.
The Buffs improved to 2-0 while UNC fell to 1-1.
The Buffs trailed by six midway through the second half but fought back to take a six-point lead with just more than a minute remaining in regulation.
The Bears, though, rallied to force overtime, hitting a 3-pointer with just a half-second left on the clock to tie the game at 67-67. The Buffs couldn't get the potential game winner to go down in the final seconds of the first extra period but finally came up with some key defensive stops and crucial free throws in the final minute of the second overtime to collect the win.
Elijah Malone led CU with 27 points on 8-for-12 shooting from the floor and 10-for-12 from the free throw line. Javon Ruffin and Julian Hammond III each chipped in 12 points, Trevor Baskin had nine points and nine rebounds and Assane Diop had a career-high 10 rebounds.
The Buffs were once again plagued by turnovers, committing 21 miscues that led to 20 UNC points while finishing with just nine assists.
Isaiah Hawthorne led the Bears with 19 points, including two of UNC's 13 3-pointers.
"Good win," Boyle said. "It wasn't easy. I told the team I'd rather win ugly than lose pretty. I have to tip my hat to Northern Colorado … We had opportunities to close it out a couple times but we couldn't get a stop. Like I said, a good win but we have to get better."
Boyle is in his 15th season in Boulder, where he has accumulated a 300-183 mark. His overall head coaching record is 356-249.
"It means I've been here a long time and we've had a lot of good players," Boyle said. "It means I've had a lot of good assistant coaches. But I know when I wake up tomorrow I'll be thinking of how we get to 301."
HOW IT HAPPENED: The lead see-sawed over the first eight minutes of the game as the Buffs were plagued by poor shooting.
Colorado took a 12-10 lead at the 13:20 mark on an Andrej Jakimovski offensive rebound and bucket but the Bears regained the edge, 15-12, a minute later on a Jaron Rillie 3-pointer.
CU then jumped back in front, 17-15, on the back of a Sebastian Rancik 3-pointer and an RJ Smith layup with 11:10 to play.
But the Bears rattled off an 8-0 run, aided by a pair of CU turnovers, and Colorado trailed, 23-17, with 7:36 to play in the half.
The Buffs hit just 7 of their first 18 field goal tries, including a 1-for-9 effort from 3-point range while the Bears were 9-for-19 over the same span, including 5-for-10 from long range.
But the Buffs finally found their shooting range over the final seven minutes of the half.
Malone hit his first 3-pointer as a Buff to pull CU to within two, 24-22, and the Buffs finally regained the lead with 1:34 to play in the half when an Assane Diop 3-pointer gave Colorado a 30-28 edge.
Both teams then added a bucket in the final minute, with a Felix Kossaras basket with 11 seconds remaining in the half giving CU a 32-30 lead at the break.
Colorado's halftime lead didn't last long. UNC used a 7-0 run to take a 43-37 lead five minutes into the half as the Bears hit six of their first seven shots from the floor.
The Buffs slowly chipped away at the deficit and finally regained the lead, 49-48, on a Ruffin basket off a Baskin offensive rebound midway through the half.
The two teams then traded the lead two more times before the Buffs finally took control.
Malone broke a 54-54 tie with 5:58 to play with a pair of free throws for a 56-54 edge, then bumped CU's lead to five with a three-point play to give the Buffs a five-point cushion — their largest of the game to that point.
Malone then added a free throw following a timeout to push Colorado's lead to six, but the Bears stayed within reach, cutting the deficit down to three with just more than two minutes to play.
The Buffs got two more free throws from Malone with 1:16 to play to bump their cushion back to six only to see the Bears rally in the final minute.
The Bears cut the deficit to three with 13 seconds to play and forced a CU turnover after the basket. UNC's Marcell McCreary then grabbed an offensive rebound and swished a trey from the corner with a half-second left on the clock to tie the game and force overtime.
"At first, I was like, 'Dang, he hit that,'" Smith said. "But it's like Coach Manning (assistant Danny) says, next play. That's what was on our mind."
The turnover was Colorado's 19th of the game.
The Buffs again took the lead in the extra period on a Ruffin 3-pointer. But the Bears answered with another McCreary 3-pointer to tie the game before Hammond hit one of two free throws to give the Buffs a one-point edge.
UNC again took the lead on two free throws before Malone hit two free throws with 1:21 remaining to give CU a 75-74 lead.
The Bears answered with two more free throws with 1:03 remaining to regain the lead before Malone hit one of two from the stripe for Colorado to tie the game at 76-76 with 49 seconds remaining.
Colorado then forced a pair of UNC misses and grabbed the rebound with 17 seconds remaining. CU had a chance to win the game in the final seconds of the first overtime but an Andrej Jakimovski shot drew iron, setting the stage for the second overtime.
The Buffs couldn't get a defensive stop early in the second extra period. The Bears hit three 3-pointers to take an 87-85 lead with just more than two minutes remaining.
But CU's Hammond hit a driving layup to tie the game again at 87-87 before the Bears hit one of two free throws to take an 88-87 lead. UNC rebounded the missed free throw but the Buffs forced a missed field goal and grabbed the rebound.
Baskin was then fouled and hit both free throws to give Colorado the lead, 89-88, with 1:01 remaining. The Buffs forced another UNC miss to regain possession and called timeout with 40 seconds remaining.
Colorado then missed with 20 seconds remaining but Baskin grabbed the offensive rebound and Hammond was fouled with 15 seconds left. Hammond hit one of two free throws and Colorado led, 90-88, with 14 seconds on the clock.
The Bears then missed a 3-point try with 4 seconds remaining and Colorado took possession with just a single tick remaining to collect the win.
DECISIVE MOMENT: This one wasn't decided until the Buffs forced a UNC miss with just four seconds on the clock in the second overtime.
WHAT IT MEANS: Colorado is now 195-40 at home under Boyle, including a 98-8 mark in non-conference home games.
NEXT UP: The Buffs continue their four-game homestand to open the season next Wednesday with a 7 p.m. game against Cal State Fullerton at the CU Events Center (ESPN+).
