Wednesday night’s matchup between the Colorado Buffaloes and Portland State Vikings was anything but normal. The two teams played in an empty gym in Boulder, as the CU Event Center was closed to fans for safety precautions, following 100+ miles per hour winds and power outages sweeping across Western Colorado. Still, despite the strange environment and electrical errors that occurred during the game, the expected result prevailed, as the Buffs beat the Vikings in a match that felt straight out of the Twilight Zone.
Following some hiccups with the game clock in the opening minutes of the game, both teams showcased their aptitude at scoring and disregard for defense, as the Buffs and Vikings essentially went shot-for-shot in the first half. Portland State got off to a hot start, feeding guards Jaylin Henderson and Tre-Vaugh Minott, along with forward Terri Miller Jr., as the trio combined for 27 of PSU’s 35 first half points.
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As for Colorado, fans saw much of the same from this group: selfless, fast-paced basketball. No Buff reached double-digit scoring figures in the first half, while eight players entered the scoring column. Along with that, seven of their 14 first-half buckets went assisted.
As per usual, Barrington Hargress’ steady hand led the Buffaloes until halftime. CU’s junior point guard finished with a team-high eight first-half points, two boards and two assists. Freshman forward Alon Michaeli trailed close behind him, with seven points and five rebounds.
Headed into the break, both teams found themselves in a shootout, with the Buffs leading the Vikings by a score of 37-35.
The second half of this game could only be described as deja vu. The Buffs and Vikings remained closely knotted until midway through the period, where the Buffs really found their stride.
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PSU got a bit too excited, putting Colorado in the bonus with 13:48 to play. That proved to be the nail in the Vikings’ coffin, as the Buffs made them pay for the remainder of the game. After making 18-22 of their shots from the line, including another clutch FT shooting performance from Isaiah Johnson, who went 8-8, Colorado walked away from one of their weirdest games in recent memory with an 84-73 win.
Johnson finished the content once again as Colorado’s leading scorer with 20 points, 15 of which came in the second half. Hargress kept his foot on the gas, finishing with 15 points and six assists, while Bangot Dak crushed off the boards and finished with a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double.
With a record of 10-1, the Buffs look to end their non-conference slate strong. Their next matchup will be a neutral-site battle with the Stanford Cardinal on Saturday, Dec. 20, at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona. After that, it’s back to The Keg for CU’s non-conference finale against Northern Colorado on Dec. 28.
