Freshman guard Isaiah Johnson drives past a defender during Colorado’s game against Montana State at the CU Events Center on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025. (Scott Tan/CU Independent)
For the fifth consecutive year, the Colorado men’s basketball team started their season 1-0. The Buffaloes overcame a sluggish first half to beat a feisty Montana State squad 84-78 on Monday night at the CU Events Center.
Colorado freshman Isaiah Johnson stole the spotlight, scoring all 24 of his debut points in the second half, with his godfather, Dwyane Wade, in attendance.
“I just kept wanting to be aggressive,” Johnson said postgame. “My teammates, my coaches, they kept telling me to be aggressive, even though I struggled in the first half.”
Aggressive he was. The guard ended the night shooting 12 free throws, making 10 of them. He added a pair of dagger three-pointers late on that got the crowd on its feet. His previous hesitancy over the first twenty minutes was unrecognizable after the halftime break.
Head coach Tad Boyle trotted out a starting lineup of returners Bangot Dak, Elijah Malone, Sebastian Rancik and Felix Kossaras, along with transfer Barrington Hargress. Dak got two early buckets, and the Buffaloes forced three Bobcat turnovers before the first media timeout.
Newcomers Jalin Holland, Josiah Sanders and Johnson were then subbed in for their first minutes in Black and Gold at the 13-minute mark. Sanders marked his introduction with a field goal of his own soon after to make it 18-10 Colorado, but Montana State hit multiple shots from behind the arc to keep it close halfway through the first interval.
Former All-Big West Conference guard Hargress showed glimpses of what made him one of the nation’s top scorers last season — this time for the Buffaloes. His ball-handling skills created opportunities to drive into the lane, drawing fouls multiple times in the process.
Around the seven-minute mark in the first half, however, was when the Bobcats caught fire. They focused on getting the ball inside, scoring ten of their first 20 points in the paint. Before the clock struck four minutes remaining, Montana State found themselves with a 29-28 lead. That run included seven straight missed field goals from Colorado.
The Buffaloes struggled to get anything going from deep, finishing the first half one for seven from three-point land, and trailed MSU 33-32 at the break. This was an alarming stat considering Colorado’s three-point shooting in the Big 12 last season, was just over 32%. CU also couldn’t capitalize on opportunities they had at the line, making just seven of their 14 attempts.
Sophomore forward Sebastian Rancik dives for a loose ball during Colorado’s game against Montana State at the CU Events Center on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025. (Scott Tan/CU Independent)
The beginning of the second half was more of the same. Patrick McMahon, the lone starter returning for the Bobcats, started to find his groove. The junior forward did well creating his own shots and playing the game at his pace.
With Colorado’s Moore and Kossaras sitting on the bench early in the half with foul trouble, Dak took matters into his own hands to step up. He finished the game with 12 points and nine rebounds, highlighted by an emphatic and-one play to cut the Montana State lead to seven with 12 minutes remaining in the game.
Then it was Johnson’s turn to take over. He scored 16 of the Buffs’ ensuing 18 points and made a handful of clutch free throws to put the team on his back. After Rancik converted an old-fashioned three-point play of his own, the CU Events Center erupted into its loudest moment of the night, with the score tied at 60 and seven minutes remaining.
Malone went on to dictate the post-interior the rest of the way, finishing with a ten point, 13 rebound game, with eight of them creating second chance possessions for Colorado. The Buffaloes finished on a 6-0 scoring run after the under four media timeout, and forced the Bobcats to miss their last five field goal attempts.
“This is going to be a fun team to watch grow and develop. And I told them, ‘I’d rather grow and develop after a win than after a loss.’” Boyle said after the game.
This team that was picked second to last in the Big 12 preseason poll still has some work to do defensively, but its young faces provided a big spark on Monday. In a league that’s already counted them out, that’s a pretty good place to begin.
Colorado is back in action Saturday, Nov. 8, hosting Eastern Washington at 2 p.m. MT at the CU Events Center. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Shane Holcombe at shane.holcombe@colorado.edu.
