Colorado
11-16,2-14Big 12
Baylor
16-11,8-8Big 12
Buffs Hang on in Thriller Over Baylor
February 22, 2025 | Men's Basketball
BOULDER – A stout defensive performance from Colorado was enough to shut down Baylor in a thrilling contest, with the Buffaloes taking down the Bears by a score of 76-74 Saturday afternoon in the CU Events Center.
Colorado improves to 11-16 overall and 2-14 in Big 12 play. Baylor falls to 16-11 overall and 8-8 in conference play.
"We made that a little bit harder than we needed to down the stretch," head coach Tad Boyle said. "There's no doubt about that. We made it interesting, but it shouldn't have been. So we've got to learn from that. But I was proud of our guys' fight and competitiveness."
Andrej Jakimovski led the Buffs with a season-high 17-points on five 3-point shots. Jakimovski had a game-high seven rebounds and five assists for the Buffs, and accounted for five of the nine 3-pointers by Colorado in this one.
"Andrej deserves a lot of credit," Boyle stated. "To have 17 points and seven rebounds and five assists and zero turnovers, plus he made some threes that were big. That's what seniors do down the stretch of their senior year, and you need your seniors to play well."
RJ Smith and Sebastian Rancik, combined for 23 points including three 3-pointers. Rancik also chipped in six rebounds in the contest.
Norchad Omier led the Bears with 18 points on 7 for 11 shooting along with 13 rebounds.
The Buffs held Baylor to just a 36% (25-69) shooting percentage overall from the floor, the second-lowest shooting percentage from an opposing team in Big 12 play for Colorado this season.
A 12-2 run by the Buffaloes with six minutes left in the second half was the deciding factor in this one. Colorado would cling onto that lead the rest of the way to close out Baylor in the final minutes.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Baylor kicked off the afternoon with a bucket down low after an offensive rebound. Julian Hammond III answered with a shot from beyond the arc, giving the Buffs a 3-2 lead. The Bears scored again after possessing an offensive rebound, tying the game at 5-5 with a Langston Love 3-pointer. A Jakimovski 3-pointer at 13:53 gave CU a 10-5 advantage over Baylor.
Colorado got out to a 16-12 lead at the eight-minute mark thanks to a Hammond basket after a six-minute dry spell from the Buffaloes' offense. A Smith three gave the Buffs an 18-12 lead. The Bears tied the game at 23 with another Love 3-pointer with just under four minutes left in the half. Bangot Dak slammed one home to to give the Buffs back the lead at 25-23.
A technical foul call on the CU bench gifted the Bears a pair of free throws to tie the game at 27 with 1:27 left in the half. Another Jakimovski 3-pointer put the Buffs up by one in the final seconds of the period, but another Love three of his own at the buzzer put his team up 32-30 over the Buffaloes at the break.
Omier opened the second half with another bucket in the paint. Smith responded for Colorado with a tough layup off the glass. Rancik's first 3-pointer of the day brought CU within one point, 36-35, with 18:17 remaining in the game. Another Smith bucket from beyond the line put the Buffs back on top by two.
A Robert Wright 3-point shot for the Bears after an offensive rebound, gave them a 45-40 lead with just about 14 minutes left in the game. Baylor responded with another shot from deep. A 6-0 scoring run by CU kept it close, with the Bears up 48-46, until their third consecutive 3-pointer gave them a little more breathing room. Jakimovski drilled his fourth three of the day to tie the game at 51 with 10:14 remaining.
The games was tied at 59 with seven minutes left, CU's Trevor Baskin earned a bucket-and-one to give the Buffs a three-point lead in the home stretch. The lead extended to six for the Buffs with a pair of Rancik free throws at the 5:42 mark. Two Dak free throws got the CU lead up to 10, 71-61, with 4:32 left in the contest.
Baylor brought the game within five points after a Jalen Celestine 3-pointer at the 1:20 mark. Smith nailed two free throws after the possession to put CU back up by seven. A Baylor bucket followed by a Buffs turnover made it a 74-72 game with 17 seconds left. Hammond then went to the free throw line, making both of his attempts.
Edgecombe slammed a tip-in dunk home with four seconds left, with CU clinging on to a two-point lead. Baylor fouled Trevor Baskin out of the break, leading to two missed free throws, but with virtually no time left Baylor could not get a shot off for a potential game-winning basket, leading to a CU 76-74 win.
UP NEXT: The Buffs are back in action Monday night at the CU Events Center, where they will take on the Kansas Jayhawks at 9 p.m. MT.
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