Colorado Wins Season Opener Following Explosive Second Half

Monday, November 2

Boulder, Colo.

7 p.m.

Colorado

1-0,0-0Big 12

Abilene Christian

0-1,0-0UAC

Team	1	2	F
Abilene Christian	34	25	59
Colorado	36	58	94

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November 02, 2026 | Men's Basketball

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By: Marcelo Brant, Athletic Communications Student Assistant

BOULDER – The Colorado Buffaloes basketball team powered through the Abilene Christian Wildcats in their season opener at the CU Events Center on Monday night, winning 94-59.

After a hard-fought first half, which saw the Buffs head into the tunnel with a narrow 36-34 lead, Colorado dominated the second period, outscoring ACU 58-25 on its way to securing a 1-0 record.

"I asked our players in the locker room after the game what the difference they thought was defensively, first half, second half, and the bottom line is they said we imposed our will," Head Coach Tad Boyle said. "We were disruptive defensively in the second half."

The Buffs' second-half charge was led by sophomore guard Jalin Holland, who scored 12 points in the period. He finished the game with a career-high 18 points while also leading the team in rebounds with six.

"Jalen Holland was really efficient and aggressive, especially after picking up two fouls early," Boyle said.

Besides Holland, four other Buffaloes put up double-digit scoring figures: sophomore guard Josiah Sanders added 14 points; sixth-year forward Justin Neely also had 14; fifth-year guard Barrington Hargress chipped in 11; and fifth-year center Noah Feddersen started his CU career with 10.

"Jalen, Josiah, Ian [Inman], and even Barrington really, really had good off-seasons," Boyle added. "They worked on their game. They worked on their shooting. They worked on their ball handling. They understand now, as sophomores, what it takes. So it's nice to see that hard work in the spring, and the summer and the fall pay off for those guys."

Feddersen, who transferred to Colorado from North Dakota State, made two highlight-reel dunks off alley-oops from freshman guard Alex Dickeson, from Adelaide, Australia, as the new faces came out ready to make an impact.

"In the first four minutes, I was a bit shaken," Dickeson said. "I think college basketball was a step up for me. But then I got back to my roots. Teammates encouraged me to make plays. Coaches encouraged me. Then I just found my guys where they were, where they were gonna be. We know how each other plays. Like Noah, he's always gonna be down low, so I can just throw it up whenever."

Colorado was dominant on both ends of the court in the second half, shooting 75.9% from the floor while holding the Wildcats to just 31.3% from the floor. The Buffs also were excellent on the glass, out-rebounding ACU 39-24 on the night.

How it happened:

At the start, both teams attacked the rim, with Feddersen dominating the paint, scoring four points and recording one rebound in the first five minutes. The Buffaloes held a thin 10-9 lead at the first media timeout.

With 13 minutes left in the half, freshman center Goc Malual, one of Colorado's new additions from Australia, made a highlight-reel leaping block on Abilene Christian guard Evan Boisdur. Hargress got the rebound and passed it to Dickeson, who sank the fast-break three. Hargress then hit a three of his own, capping the Buffs' 8-0 run and forcing ACU to call its first timeout, with CU leading 18-9.

Colorado kept the pressure up offensively, with Dickeson finding Feddersen for a sensational alley-oop which electrified the crowd before the second media timeout and extended CU lead to 10 at 28-18.

Sophomore guard Ian Inman got into the action with four minutes to go in the opening period, hitting a three-point shot to maintain the home team's 10-point cushion at 31-21.

ACU went on an offensive run late in the first, grabbing its first lead of the game on a fast-break layup by forward Willan Marie-Anais. With seven seconds left in the period, Hargress hit an off-balance three-point buzzer-beater as CU seized the lead right back, 36-34.

At halftime, Hargress led the Buffaloes with eight points. Colorado shot 45% from the field, while Abilene Christian shot 48%. The Buffs dominated the paint, recording 20 total rebounds, while the Wildcats managed only 10. CU's nine turnovers kept the Wildcats in the game through the first stanza, leading to nine ACU points.

Colorado's offense recovered its rhythm to start the second half. Baskets by Sanders, Hargress, and Holland extended the Buffs' lead to 47-37 in the first five minutes.

The offensive outburst continued after the first media timeout, with Holland hitting a corner three and Hargress connecting with Neely on a layup off a full-court assist to give the Buffaloes a 15-point lead, their largest of the game.

After that, Holland hit his third three of the contest, and Neely followed with his first. Colorado's three-point storm put the home team up 63-45 with 11 minutes remaining.

CU also impressed in the paint, with Dickeson again finding Feddersen on a fast-break alley-oop and hitting a hook shot near the basket right after, extending the Buff lead to 72-47 with eight minutes left.

Colorado kept scoring in nearly every opportunity at the basket. Dickeson scored four straight points for the Buffs, off a driving layup and two made free throws, while Inman swished his first three of the game, extending the Buff lead to a comfortable 86-55, with three minutes left.

CU kept pulling away in the waning minutes and sealed the 94-59 win, the Buffs' 11th straight season-opening victory. Under Boyle, the Buffaloes are now 15-2 in season openers and 42-5 since 1980-81.

UP NEXT: The Buffaloes travel to San Diego to take on San Diego State in the Bill Walton Classic on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 1:30 p.m. at the Pechanga Arena.