Colorado defeated UTSA 88-64 on Saturday at the CU Events Center, improving its season record to 9-1 and remaining undefeated at home. The Buffaloes pulled away in the second half after a close opening period, with senior guard Barrington Hargress leading the team by scoring 23 points, including 10 in the final 20 minutes. Sebastian Rancik contributed 15 points, while Bangot Dak added 10.
“Just the aggression, and then our teammates were being very open with one more [pass] so it was big,” Hargress said about his performance. “Teams have played me a little bit loose from three lately, so I wanted to be aggressive, and I feel like I’ve been shooting it well in practice. So I was aggressive today.”
A key moment came when Colorado went on a 17-3 run early in the second half. Josiah Sanders’ fastbreak layup gave the Buffs a 61-42 lead with just over twelve minutes left, and UTSA did not get closer than a 15-point deficit for the rest of the game.
The Buffaloes outscored UTSA in the paint (42-28) and on fast breaks (23-5), while also outrebounding their opponent by a margin of 48-34. Head coach Tad Boyle noted improvements on both ends of the court compared to their previous loss against Colorado State.
“We were plus (12) on the glass,” Boyle said. “We held them under 40% from the field, those are two important numbers for us. We got like 50% of our misses in offensive rebounds. I know in the first half we had 11 offensive rebounds and only four second chance points, I think we only had eight, but we got 50% of our rebounds, which means we got more possessions. That’s a good thing, so we have to do a better job of finishing when we get offensive rebounds, whether that’s going back up with it or kicking it out for a three, because that’s the best time to get a three. So we’ll figure that out as we watch the film, but overall, I was really on our guys about not offensive rebounding against Colorado State. We were much better tonight.”
On defense, Colorado limited UTSA to just under 40 percent shooting from the field and forced 16 turnovers—10 coming before halftime.
Jamir Simpson led UTSA with 19 points along with six rebounds and five assists.
Colorado will next face Portland State at home on Wednesday.
