Colorado
10-15,1-13Big 12
UCF
13-12,4-10Big 12
Buffs Snap Losing Streak, Take Down UCF at Home
February 15, 2025 | Men's Basketball
BOULDER – The Colorado Buffaloes snapped their 13-game losing streak Saturday afternoon at home over UCF, taking down the Knights by a score of 76-63 for their first Big 12 Conference win of the season.
With the win, the Buffs move to 10-15 overall and 1-13 in Big 12 play. The UCF Knights fall to 13-12 overall and 4-10 in conference games. The teams split the season series, 1-1.
"I'm happy for these guys, everybody in that locker room, what we've been through over the last month and a half," head coach Tad Boyle said. "Just battling, fighting, and scratching and clawing while just coming up short. And these guys have stuck together. They haven't lost their belief in each other or themselves, which is a testament to them. So it's nice to see them rewarded and really rewarded in a game where we were far from our best."
Andrej Jakimovski led all Colorado scorers with 15 points on 3 for 6 shooting from beyond the arc, along with seven rebounds. Assane Diop contributed a season-high 10 rebounds and six points off the bench for the Buffs.
"I thought his (Jakimovski) defensive effort on (Keyshawn) Hall was terrific," Boyle stated. "He had to work for everything he got, and he really battled him all night."
Hall led UCF with 19 points on 6 for 14 shooting while also grabbing nine rebounds.
The Buffs held the Knights to a 34% (21-61) shooting percentage, while shooting 42% (25-59) from the floor as a unit themselves.
All nine Buffaloes who saw the floor on Saturday logged at least one point in the contest. Eight of the nine scored at least six points.
Colorado was a dominant force on the glass, nabbing a season-high 52 rebounds as a team. Their previous high was 45 rebounds collected in each of the first two games of the season. UCF had just 29 total rebounds in the contest.
DECISIVE MOMENT
A 13-5 run by the Buffs in the first eight minutes of the second half got them a double-digit lead for the first time in the contest, a lead UCF would not be able to catch up with. Ten quick points in the paint and a Jakimovski 3-pointer propelled the second-half offense for Colorado.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Bangot Dak started the game off with a tough bucket down low that drew an and-one foul. Dak missed the following free throw. Keyshawn Hall hit a 3-pointer and a layup to give the Knights a 7-6 lead over CU at the 16-minute mark in the first half. RJ Smith drilled the first shot from distance for the Buffs, giving them an 11-9 lead with just over 13 minutes left in the period.
Back-to-back Javon Ruffin 3-pointers gave CU their biggest lead at the time, 22-16, with 8:48 remaining in the first half. Multiple turnovers led to a four-minute scoreless drought from the Buffs, opening the door to an 8-0 UCF run, giving the Knights a 29-27 advantage with three minutes left in the half. A 7-2 run in the final 1:30 of the half gave Colorado a one-possession lead, 38-36 headed into the break.
Colorado started the second half with a 9-3 run thanks to five quick points from Jakimovski, including his second 3-pointer of the afternoon. The Buffs gained their first double-digit lead of the day with 12:16 remaining, after a Ruffin layup in the paint to put CU up 51-41. The Knights managed to cut the deficit to five, 55-50, with just under eight minutes left, but another Jakimovski shot from deep put the Buffs back up by eight.
An Elijah Malone bucket at the 4:35 mark put Colorado up by 11, 64-53, their largest lead of the day. One free throw made by Malone followed up with a miss, but a tip-in layup from Rancik gave CU a three-point swing. The 14-point Colorado lead was too much for UCF to catch up to in the final three minutes, giving the Buffs their first Big 12 win of the season.
UP NEXT
Tad Boyle and his Buffs will head to Iowa to take on the Iowa State Cyclones Tuesday, Feb. 18, at 6 p.m. MT.
