Sunday, October 19
Boulder, Colo.
12 p.m.
Colorado
0-0,0-0Big 12
92
vs
66
Grace College (Ind.)
0-0
1
2
F
Grace (IN)
37
29
66
Colorado
34
58
92
Second Half Surge Nets Exhibition Win
October 19, 2025 | Men's Basketball
BOULDER — Colorado used a huge second half to run away with a 92-66 exhibition win over Grace (Ind.) College, Sunday at the CU Events Center.
After trailing by three points at halftime, the Buffaloes surged ahead with a dominant 58-point second half. The Buffaloes capitalized on Grace's 20 turnovers, converting them into 21 points, while also outscoring Grace 46-24 in the paint. The Buffs' bench contributed 40 points to secure the win.
Isaiah Johnson led the scoring with 21 points, shooting 7-for-10 from the field, including four 3-pointers, and added two steals. Jalin Holland contributed 14 points on 5-for-7 shooting and collected three steals while also dishing out four assists. Alon Michaeli posted 12 points and recorded two steals, adding five rebounds. Josiah Sanders tallied 11 points and distributed a team-high five assists, along with two rebounds.
Michael Wellman led Grace with 13 points, shooting 5-for-9 from the field, and added a steal and an assist. Ian Raasch matched Wellman with 13 points, connecting on 5 of his 10 attempts, while grabbing nine rebounds. Tyler Raasch had four blocks and two steals, alongside four points and three assists.
"These exhibitions are an opportunity for us to learn, and kind of see where we are and what we have to get better at," Colorado head coach Tad Boyle said. "A midterm exam, if you will, is how I look at it. And obviously, it was kind of a tale of two halves. For some reason, in the first half, it seemed like we had some nerves, we were tired, like we weren't the team that was in better shape."
"This team, as you saw in the second half, can score the ball; we can get it going. We got multiple guys who can do that, but we don't have that defensive mindset that we need to have."
That defensive mindset is what sparked the Buffaloes in the second half. Michaeli had back-to-back steals, the first resulting in a pair of free throws and the second a breakaway dunk that gave the Buffaloes a 49-44 lead, their best since the opening minutes of the game.
"The second half, I thought Alon (Michaeli), really did a good job," Boyle said. "We got two steals that turned into dunks. That's what I want our guys to understand, the defense can energize the offense, because you're going to miss shots sometimes."
Elijah Malone scored on a 3-point play to give Colorado it's first double-digit lead at 58-48. Grace's Hunter Walston countered with one of his own to briefly knock CU's lead back to seven.
From there, Colorado took control of the game, thanks to a 16-0 run. Andrew Crawford hit a 3-pointer and Felix Kossaras scored on three-straight fast-break layups. A Holland dunk capped off the run as the Buffaloes took a 74-51 lead with just under six minutes remaining.
Colorado forced 15 of Grace's 20 turnovers in the second half. The Buffaloes held the Lancers to 29 second-half points, compared to allowing 37 in the first period.
"Our defense was the biggest thing in the first half and we had a slow start," Kossaras said. "We just knew the second half we had to pressure the ball and speed them up. It all starts on the defensive end, I think us being able just to guard the ball and help each other out and communicate, that was the biggest push that translated to our offense."
Colorado scored the first seven points of the game, but the Lancers quickly erased that with a 9-0 run.
The Buffaloes briefly took back the lead on a Holland 3-pointer, but Grace countered with a pair of 3-pointers to build a 17-11 lead.
Colorado scored another seven in a row and Holland's second 3-pointer put the Buffaloes up 18-17.
Grace then used a 13-2 run to build its biggest lead at 30-20 with 5:16 remaining.
The Buffaloes did close the gap at the end of the half with a 12-run. Johnson scored eight points during that stretch, including a pair of 3-pointers that gave Colorado a 34-32 lead before the Lancers scored the final five points of the period.
Colorado will officially open the 2025-26 season on Monday, Nov. 3, against Montana State, at 7 p.m. at the CU Events Center.
After trailing by three points at halftime, the Buffaloes surged ahead with a dominant 58-point second half. The Buffaloes capitalized on Grace's 20 turnovers, converting them into 21 points, while also outscoring Grace 46-24 in the paint. The Buffs' bench contributed 40 points to secure the win.
Isaiah Johnson led the scoring with 21 points, shooting 7-for-10 from the field, including four 3-pointers, and added two steals. Jalin Holland contributed 14 points on 5-for-7 shooting and collected three steals while also dishing out four assists. Alon Michaeli posted 12 points and recorded two steals, adding five rebounds. Josiah Sanders tallied 11 points and distributed a team-high five assists, along with two rebounds.
Michael Wellman led Grace with 13 points, shooting 5-for-9 from the field, and added a steal and an assist. Ian Raasch matched Wellman with 13 points, connecting on 5 of his 10 attempts, while grabbing nine rebounds. Tyler Raasch had four blocks and two steals, alongside four points and three assists.
"These exhibitions are an opportunity for us to learn, and kind of see where we are and what we have to get better at," Colorado head coach Tad Boyle said. "A midterm exam, if you will, is how I look at it. And obviously, it was kind of a tale of two halves. For some reason, in the first half, it seemed like we had some nerves, we were tired, like we weren't the team that was in better shape."
"This team, as you saw in the second half, can score the ball; we can get it going. We got multiple guys who can do that, but we don't have that defensive mindset that we need to have."
That defensive mindset is what sparked the Buffaloes in the second half. Michaeli had back-to-back steals, the first resulting in a pair of free throws and the second a breakaway dunk that gave the Buffaloes a 49-44 lead, their best since the opening minutes of the game.
"The second half, I thought Alon (Michaeli), really did a good job," Boyle said. "We got two steals that turned into dunks. That's what I want our guys to understand, the defense can energize the offense, because you're going to miss shots sometimes."
Elijah Malone scored on a 3-point play to give Colorado it's first double-digit lead at 58-48. Grace's Hunter Walston countered with one of his own to briefly knock CU's lead back to seven.
From there, Colorado took control of the game, thanks to a 16-0 run. Andrew Crawford hit a 3-pointer and Felix Kossaras scored on three-straight fast-break layups. A Holland dunk capped off the run as the Buffaloes took a 74-51 lead with just under six minutes remaining.
Colorado forced 15 of Grace's 20 turnovers in the second half. The Buffaloes held the Lancers to 29 second-half points, compared to allowing 37 in the first period.
"Our defense was the biggest thing in the first half and we had a slow start," Kossaras said. "We just knew the second half we had to pressure the ball and speed them up. It all starts on the defensive end, I think us being able just to guard the ball and help each other out and communicate, that was the biggest push that translated to our offense."
Colorado scored the first seven points of the game, but the Lancers quickly erased that with a 9-0 run.
The Buffaloes briefly took back the lead on a Holland 3-pointer, but Grace countered with a pair of 3-pointers to build a 17-11 lead.
Colorado scored another seven in a row and Holland's second 3-pointer put the Buffaloes up 18-17.
Grace then used a 13-2 run to build its biggest lead at 30-20 with 5:16 remaining.
The Buffaloes did close the gap at the end of the half with a 12-run. Johnson scored eight points during that stretch, including a pair of 3-pointers that gave Colorado a 34-32 lead before the Lancers scored the final five points of the period.
Colorado will officially open the 2025-26 season on Monday, Nov. 3, against Montana State, at 7 p.m. at the CU Events Center.
Team Stats
Grace
CU
FG%
.357
.508
3FG%
.348
.360
FT%
.947
.680
RB
31
42
TO
20
15
STL
6
14
Game Leaders
Pts
21
FGM
7
3FGM
4
FTM
3
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballMBB vs Grace College Highlights
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