Colorado University Athletics
Saturday, November 8
Boulder, Colo.
2 p.m.
Colorado
2-0,0-0Big 12
102
vs
97
Eastern Washington
0-3,0-0Big Sky
1
2
OT 1
F
Eastern Wash.
39
46
12
97
Colorado
41
44
17
102
Buffs Top Eastern Washington In Overtime
November 08, 2025 | Men's Basketball
BOULDER – Colorado drained 11 3-pointers, and the Buffaloes outlasted Eastern Washington in overtime Saturday afternoon for a 102-97 win at the CU Events Center.
Tad Boyle's Buffs improved to 2-0 with the win, while the Eagles dropped to 0-3.
"Credit to Eastern Washington," Boyle said. "Those guys came in here: they got tough kids, competitive kids, and a really good coach. I want to make it clear, we did not overlook them. In any sense of the word: in terms of our preparation practice this week. In fact, just the opposite. I did something in 31 years of division one coaching that I've never done before with a team preparing for a game, and that is: I showed them Mick Cronin's [UCLA Head Coach] post game press conference after UCLA beat Eastern Washington by a whopping six points in Pauley Pavilion this week. He said everything that I felt after Montana State and everything that I feel right now after just playing Eastern Washington."
The Buffs trailed 68-67 with 6:32 remaining in the game but rallied to lead by three points with 19 seconds remaining. The Eagles, though, rallied to force overtime, hitting a 3-pointer with just three seconds left on the clock to tie the game at 85-85. The Buffs couldn't get the potential game-winner to go down in the final seconds of the second half.
Sebastian Rancik led the way for Colorado, scoring a team-leading and career-high 24 points, going 11-of-12 from the free throw line. Freshman Isaiah Johnson added to the hot start to his career with 17 points off the bench. Barrington Hargress added 14 points, and freshman Alon Michaeli put up 11 points off the bench in his first career game.
Isaiah Moses led the Eagles with 30 points, including the game-tying 3-pointer at the end of regulation.
The Buffs struggled to slow down the Eagles, who shot nearly 60% from the field and 56% from behind the arc. But in the second half, Colorado forced eight turnovers, leading to 11 points.
"We have to have more pride, and our guys have to feel about it the way I feel about it, and our coaching staff feels," Boyle commented on the defense. "We have some really good coaches on this staff, some really good offensive coaches. Now defensive coaches we have to take blame on this too. Our players aren't guarding, but they're not guarding because we're not making them guard."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Hargress got the scoring going for Colorado with a mid-range shot off the dribble in the left corner.
Early in the first half, Michaeli earned the first minutes of playing time in his career and scored his first of six points in the opening 20 minutes. Fellow freshman Johnson followed that up with four-straight points of his own to cut the lead to 12-11.
Unable to pull away, the Buffs stayed ahead using the 3-point shot. Three deep shots from Rancik and Inman put the Buffs up 25-21 with 8:41 remaining in the first half.
Eastern Washington used an 8-0 run to take the lead, holding CU's offense scoreless for nearly four minutes of gametime.
Two more 3-pointers, first by Hargress, then by Rancik, gave the Buffs a two-point lead, but two Eagles free throws tied the game before an Inman layup to give Colorado a 41-39 lead at the break.
Colorado's defense struggled to stop Eastern Washington in the first half, allowing them to shoot 54% on 14-of-26 shots and get to the free-throw line 12 times. The Buffs stayed ahead by shooting 43% from behind the arc on six makes.
The Buffs opened the second half, forcing two turnovers and blocking a shot, leading to a 6-0 run and a Bangot Dak alley-oop dunk to get the crowd on their feet.
Foul trouble began to plague the Buffs with both Felix Kossaras and Elijah Malone picking up their third fouls early in the second half.
After a Hargress layup put the Buffs up nine, Eastern Washington responded with a 12-2 run over three minutes to retake the lead 51-49. Layups by Dak, Rancik, and Josiah Sanders gave Colorado the lead 55-53, but the defense still struggled to get a stop with the Eagles answering with makes of their own.
Both teams struggled to get stops, keeping the game close. The Buffs turned defense into offense, scoring off turnovers to retake the lead 67-66.
Leading by two points, Johnson drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key to push the lead to 75-70 with 3:25 remaining.
Only leading by one, Rancik kicked it out to Kossaras for his first 3-pointer of the game and the team's ninth for a 79-75 lead.
Following free throws from Michaeli and a 3-pointer from the Eagles, the Buffs led 81-80. Hargress responded by putting in a runner in the middle of the court to lead 83-80. But just as it had been all game, Eastern Washington responded with a Moses layup to keep the game at a one-point lead.
In the bonus, the ball found Rancik, who hit both free throws to put the Buffs up 85-82 with 19 seconds remaining.
Eastern Washington's Moses followed that up with a deep 3-point shot with 3.1 seconds to tie the game at 85. Rancik had a shot at the buzzer that missed, pushing the game to overtime.
After making a free throw for the opening points of overtime, Kossaras was called for an offensive foul on the following possession, fouling out of the game.
Following a foul and an ejection of the Eagles' Straton Rogers, the Buffs got four free throws and made them all with Johnson and Rancik splitting them, giving a 90-85 lead.
The Eagles responded by making two straight shots, including an and-1 by Johnny Radford, to tie the game up at 90-90.
Needing a basket, Johnson knocked down another 3-pointer, this time on the right wing. After a block by Malone, he took his turn behind the arc off a pass by Hargress to the left corner to give the Buffs a 96-90 lead.
Rancik iced the game at the free-throw line, keeping the Buffs ahead for good.
UP NEXT
The Buffs continue their season-opening five-game homestand on Friday at 7:00 p.m. against Providence at the CU Events Center (ESPN+).
Tad Boyle's Buffs improved to 2-0 with the win, while the Eagles dropped to 0-3.
"Credit to Eastern Washington," Boyle said. "Those guys came in here: they got tough kids, competitive kids, and a really good coach. I want to make it clear, we did not overlook them. In any sense of the word: in terms of our preparation practice this week. In fact, just the opposite. I did something in 31 years of division one coaching that I've never done before with a team preparing for a game, and that is: I showed them Mick Cronin's [UCLA Head Coach] post game press conference after UCLA beat Eastern Washington by a whopping six points in Pauley Pavilion this week. He said everything that I felt after Montana State and everything that I feel right now after just playing Eastern Washington."
The Buffs trailed 68-67 with 6:32 remaining in the game but rallied to lead by three points with 19 seconds remaining. The Eagles, though, rallied to force overtime, hitting a 3-pointer with just three seconds left on the clock to tie the game at 85-85. The Buffs couldn't get the potential game-winner to go down in the final seconds of the second half.
Sebastian Rancik led the way for Colorado, scoring a team-leading and career-high 24 points, going 11-of-12 from the free throw line. Freshman Isaiah Johnson added to the hot start to his career with 17 points off the bench. Barrington Hargress added 14 points, and freshman Alon Michaeli put up 11 points off the bench in his first career game.
Isaiah Moses led the Eagles with 30 points, including the game-tying 3-pointer at the end of regulation.
The Buffs struggled to slow down the Eagles, who shot nearly 60% from the field and 56% from behind the arc. But in the second half, Colorado forced eight turnovers, leading to 11 points.
"We have to have more pride, and our guys have to feel about it the way I feel about it, and our coaching staff feels," Boyle commented on the defense. "We have some really good coaches on this staff, some really good offensive coaches. Now defensive coaches we have to take blame on this too. Our players aren't guarding, but they're not guarding because we're not making them guard."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Hargress got the scoring going for Colorado with a mid-range shot off the dribble in the left corner.
Early in the first half, Michaeli earned the first minutes of playing time in his career and scored his first of six points in the opening 20 minutes. Fellow freshman Johnson followed that up with four-straight points of his own to cut the lead to 12-11.
Unable to pull away, the Buffs stayed ahead using the 3-point shot. Three deep shots from Rancik and Inman put the Buffs up 25-21 with 8:41 remaining in the first half.
Eastern Washington used an 8-0 run to take the lead, holding CU's offense scoreless for nearly four minutes of gametime.
Two more 3-pointers, first by Hargress, then by Rancik, gave the Buffs a two-point lead, but two Eagles free throws tied the game before an Inman layup to give Colorado a 41-39 lead at the break.
Colorado's defense struggled to stop Eastern Washington in the first half, allowing them to shoot 54% on 14-of-26 shots and get to the free-throw line 12 times. The Buffs stayed ahead by shooting 43% from behind the arc on six makes.
The Buffs opened the second half, forcing two turnovers and blocking a shot, leading to a 6-0 run and a Bangot Dak alley-oop dunk to get the crowd on their feet.
Foul trouble began to plague the Buffs with both Felix Kossaras and Elijah Malone picking up their third fouls early in the second half.
After a Hargress layup put the Buffs up nine, Eastern Washington responded with a 12-2 run over three minutes to retake the lead 51-49. Layups by Dak, Rancik, and Josiah Sanders gave Colorado the lead 55-53, but the defense still struggled to get a stop with the Eagles answering with makes of their own.
Both teams struggled to get stops, keeping the game close. The Buffs turned defense into offense, scoring off turnovers to retake the lead 67-66.
Leading by two points, Johnson drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key to push the lead to 75-70 with 3:25 remaining.
Only leading by one, Rancik kicked it out to Kossaras for his first 3-pointer of the game and the team's ninth for a 79-75 lead.
Following free throws from Michaeli and a 3-pointer from the Eagles, the Buffs led 81-80. Hargress responded by putting in a runner in the middle of the court to lead 83-80. But just as it had been all game, Eastern Washington responded with a Moses layup to keep the game at a one-point lead.
In the bonus, the ball found Rancik, who hit both free throws to put the Buffs up 85-82 with 19 seconds remaining.
Eastern Washington's Moses followed that up with a deep 3-point shot with 3.1 seconds to tie the game at 85. Rancik had a shot at the buzzer that missed, pushing the game to overtime.
After making a free throw for the opening points of overtime, Kossaras was called for an offensive foul on the following possession, fouling out of the game.
Following a foul and an ejection of the Eagles' Straton Rogers, the Buffs got four free throws and made them all with Johnson and Rancik splitting them, giving a 90-85 lead.
The Eagles responded by making two straight shots, including an and-1 by Johnny Radford, to tie the game up at 90-90.
Needing a basket, Johnson knocked down another 3-pointer, this time on the right wing. After a block by Malone, he took his turn behind the arc off a pass by Hargress to the left corner to give the Buffs a 96-90 lead.
Rancik iced the game at the free-throw line, keeping the Buffs ahead for good.
UP NEXT
The Buffs continue their season-opening five-game homestand on Friday at 7:00 p.m. against Providence at the CU Events Center (ESPN+).
Team Stats
EWU
CU
FG%
.597
.508
3FG%
.563
.478
FT%
.737
.692
RB
29
34
TO
11
9
STL
6
8
Game Leaders
Pts
24
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
11
Pts
17
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
6
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
G
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