Once again, Colorado’s defense wasn’t up to par. And once again, the Buffaloes struggled at the free-throw line.
Yet for the second time in as many games, CU managed to survive with a victory.
The CU men’s basketball team prevailed in a back-and-forth nonconference battle with Eastern Washington, posting a 102-97 overtime victory Saturday afternoon at the CU Events Center.
The game was tied 85-85 after regulation, and the Buffs received a huge break when Eastern Washington’s Straton Rogers was called for a pair of technical fouls with 3 minutes, 9 seconds remaining in overtime.
Sebastian Rancik and Isaiah Johnson promptly hit two free throws apiece to give CU a 90-85 lead, but the Eagles rallied, tying the game at 90-90 on a three-point play from Johnny Radford with 1:50 to play.
But Johnson and Elijah Malone answered with back-to-back 3-pointers, giving the Buffs a six-point lead, and after struggling at the free-throw line through the bulk of the game, CU went 11-for-14 at the line in the extra session to secure the win and improve to 2-0.
Rancik led the Buffs with a career-high 24 points, while Barrington Hargress recorded 14 points and four assists. Hargress’ former teammate at UC Riverside, Isaiah Moses, scored 30 points to lead Eastern Washington (0-3). The Eagles finished with a .597 shooting percentage.
This story will be updated