Colorado Buffaloes sophomore guard, Felix Kossaras, playing against Alabama State University on Monday, Nov. 17th, 2025 (Remi Krupinski/CU Independent).
Colorado men’s basketball (5-0) finished a five-game homestand unbeaten with a 95-79 win over UC Davis (4-2) on Friday, Nov. 21. The Buffaloes used a late 14-2 run to pull away and secured their first 5-0 start to a season since 2019-20.
While CU center Bangot Dak led the team in scoring, it was forward Felix Kossaras who stole the plaudits and finished with a career-high 17 points.
“Offensively, he [Felix] doesn’t force things, and does a really good job letting the game come to him,” Colorado head coach Tad Boyle said postgame.
The sophomore did just that, letting the game come to him. Kossaras went eight for 12 from the field, and added three 3-pointers. That’s good for 67% from behind the arc so far this year.
The Buffs started hot as a collective, too. Before all 5,209 fans in attendance had even taken their seats, Colorado had built a 10-0 lead, with five of those points coming off two Aggies turnovers. A lob from transfer guard Barrington Hargress to Dak for an alley-oop forced an early timeout from UC Davis head coach Jim Les.
But the Aggies fought back right away, in a preview of what was to come. After two buckets from deep and an 8-0 run, UC Davis trailed by just three points at the under-12 media break. CU struggled to find quality shots, and went one for seven from the field in that stretch.
College basketball is known for being a game of runs, and a Hargress three capped an 8-0 burst for the Buffs in response. Colorado took a 43-39 lead into the locker room and did not trail for a single second in the first half. Eleven of the Buffs’ 15 field goals during the period were assisted, something Boyle emphasized the importance of in his postgame comments.
“Barrington and Sebastian are playmakers, and that’s dangerous for other teams,” Boyle said. “[When Sebastian] starts distributing the ball, we’re really hard to guard, and Barrington is doing a great job of it.”
After the halftime break, UC Davis’ Niko Rocak came out hot. The senior forward knocked down two quick triples, and the Aggies improbably took their first lead of the night, 58-57, with 11 minutes remaining. Colorado trailed at a stoppage of play for the first time all night.
With Colorado forward Elijah Malone in foul trouble with four personals, the Buffs looked to their guards for a spark. Freshmen Jalin Holland and Isaiah Johnson stepped up quickly, and an old-fashioned three-point play from Hargress gave Colorado the lead back at the seven-minute mark.
“Those guys [Holland and Johnson] are showing their talent in practice everyday, and keep on growing. They are gonna be scary for everybody else, but useful for us down the stretch,” Hargress said of his freshmen teammates postgame.
It was Hargress, though, who found Dak down low on two straight possessions late in the game, effectively sealing the win for CU. Before the Aggies could respond, their deficit was back to double digits. Johnson followed with a deep three, and the Buffs continued their strong shooting from beyond the arc. Colorado went 9-for-15 from three-point range, marking its best percentage in a game this season. Five Buffaloes scored 10 or more points, and the team finished with 24 assists on 34 made baskets.
Colorado went undefeated at the Acrisure Holiday Classic in Palm Springs and, after beating California Baptist at home, now heads to Fort Collins to face rival Colorado State. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. MT on Dec. 6 and can be streamed on Fubo.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Shane Holcombe at shane.holcombe@colorado.edu
