The Colorado Buffaloes won against the Pacific Tigers (5-5) on Monday by a score of 75-66 to advance to 6-2 (5-0 at home) on the season.
It was a rollercoaster of a game for the Buffs, as they were narrowly outrebounded 41-40 and allowed 14 offensive rebounds, but standout performances ultimately propelled them to victory.
The biggest highlight came from forward Trevor Baskin, who led the team in rebounds and assists, recording a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds while also dishing out seven assists. Another key contributor was forward Andrej Jakimovski, who led the scoring with 17 points. Four other players came close to double digits, with Julian Hammond III being the next closest, finishing with nine points and a steal.
Colorado also recorded a season-low 10 turnovers and tallied seven blocked shots, their highest total since 2020.
The Buffs got off to a quick start in the first half, gaining an 8-4 lead with forward Jakimovski contributing five points. However, Pacific came back with a vengeance as they scored 15 unanswered points over the next five minutes to take a 19-8 lead, their biggest of the game.
“There’s no excuse for our defensive performance in the first half,” Baskin explained of the first-half struggles. “Coach warned us to not have a Maui hangover, and we had it. I think our energy was just a little bit off from the start. And I think that's on us as older players to be able to really get the guys locked in before and be able to start the game off on the right foot. I think we didn’t do that properly today.”
The Tigers were tenacious on defense, collapsing on CU’s drives in the paint and daring the Buffs to shoot from outside. Out of the first media timeout, the Buffs finally stopped the run with a 3-pointer from Sebastian Rancik, their first made field goal in their last 11 attempts since the 18-minute mark. However, Rancik’s shot failed to generate momentum for the Buffs, as Pacific extended their lead back to its largest margin of 11 points with eight minutes remaining in the first half.
The Buffs managed to fight their way back into the game, hitting five of their last seven shots of the first half. Despite this effort, Pacific regained control and stretched their lead to nine by halftime, heading into the break with a 38-29 advantage.
“For some reason, we weren’t ready to play. That’s on me. We’ve got to be better. Our defensive effort tonight, I thought was a carryover from practice yesterday. I saw it coming yesterday in practice,” head coach Tad Boyle said of the Buffs’ defensive shortcomings. “We gotta be able to find a defensive stop. Right now, we don’t have one.”
The Buffs struggled to score in the paint during the first half, shooting just 4-for-17 from inside the arc, 10-for-31 overall, yet 6-for-14 from beyond the arc.
“I think eventually the floodgates will open in some aspects. We have no lack of confidence on this team. I think our shot selection can sometimes be better and that involves kicking it out a lot more and getting good looks from that,” Baskin added. “Then once they see a couple 3s go in, then it really starts to open up, because they have to respect our 3-point shot a lot more… I know I was not very happy with the way I finished around the rim, but this is stuff that we can improve upon.”
The Buffs had a rough start to the second half, turning the ball over on their first three possessions. The game remained back-and-forth, with forward Assane Diop sinking a pair of free throws to cut the lead down to five, only for Pacific to extend it back to 10. Guard RJ Smith responded with a 3-pointer to trim the lead to seven, followed by a Bangot Dak block on the defensive end that set up a Harrison Carrington dunk, cutting the deficit to five and igniting the CU Events Center.
After Pacific added a couple of free throws, Elijah Malone recovered possession, and Jakimovski grabbed a rebound and went coast-to-coast for an and-one, bringing the lead down to three—the smallest margin since 8-9 in the first half. A defensive rebound led to a fast break, and following an offensive rebound and a jump ball, Smith hit another clutch 3 to give the Buffs their first lead since the opening half at 51-50.
“RJ [Smith] is a good player, and RJ is an important player for this basketball team,” Boyle said of Smith. “I think in Hawaii, he was positive in a big way, so he’s doing a good job now…He’s just got to continue to improve but he’s given us good minutes.”
The Buffs were unshakeable defensively in the second half, recording five steals, four blocks, and 18 defensive rebounds. They never relinquished the lead, going on a 12-2 run. Following the seven-minute media timeout, a steal by Hammond III set up an Elijah Malone layup, giving the Buffs their largest lead to that point at 61-56.
From there, CU took control, scoring nine unanswered points to extend their advantage to its peak. After intentional fouls in the closing moments, the Buffs secured a 75-66 victory.
"We started trapping a little bit when we went small and tried to create some offense with our defense. We wanted to keep the pace of the game going. I thought our guys did a good job of that,” Boyle said of discrepancies between halves on defense. “We played much better defensively in the second half, I thought. We did change a few things up, nothing major, though. Just did it better.”
Monday was the first of a five-game homestand that will extend through all of December with the Buffs’ next road game being in the new year. Baskin and Coach Boyle explained the importance of the December games.
"Extremely important. I think Maui was, like Coach mentioned quite a bit, it was a midterm, and it allowed us to see a lot of glaring things we have to fix as a team. These next games, we have to use to our advantage. Because once 2025 hits, it's the gauntlet. It's tough team, night in and night out,” Baskin said.
“You gotta keep getting better every day. That's the mindset. Get better…That's the mindset, and I'd like to play well too. So we can have a little bit more excitement after a win,” Boyle said. “Our inconsistency is as evident as any team I've ever coached.”
The Buffs face off against their instate rivals, the Colorado State Rams (4-3), on Saturday at the CU Events Center. Tipoff is set for 6:00 p.m. MT (ESPN +).
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