Isaiah Johnson scored 24 points off the bench to lead Colorado to a hard fought 84-78 win over Montana State in the teams’ season opener Monday in Boulder, Colo.
The freshman guard’s layup gave the Buffaloes a 78-76 lead with 1:19 to play. One possession later, Cavin Holden tied the game with a pair of free throws. But Johnson, Sebastian Rancik and Felix Kossaras hit six straight foul shots to seal the win for Colorado.
Rancik scored 13 points and Bangot Dak added 12 points and nine rebounds. Elijah Malone had a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds and Barrington Hargress added 11 points.
Patrick McMahon scored 24 points, Holden tallied 14 and Christian King and Jed Miller each added 10 for Montana State.
The Bobcats drained 7 of 20 3-point attempts, while the Buffaloes shot just 3 of 12 from beyond the arc.
Dak’s two-hand flush was the highlight of a 7-0 run as the Buffaloes forced turnovers on three straight Bobcats’ possessions to grab a 12-5 lead at the first media timeout.
But a 13-1 Montana State run coincided with a Colorado scoring drought that lasted more than four minutes. Montana State took its first lead since the opening minute at 29-28 on a Chris Hodges layup late in the first half.
After a fast start, Colorado went ice cold from the floor and hit just 2 of 14 shots to close the first half. The Bobcats took a 33-32 lead into the locker room.
A twisting layup by McMahon pushed the Montana State lead to 45-39 with 15:36 left. Colorado took a 56-54 lead when Rancik’s driving layup drew a foul and led to a three-point play.
Jed MIller went on a personal 5-0 run as MSU took a 74-70 lead with 3:29 to play.
