CU Buffs basketball survives in overtime against Eastern Washington

Once again, Colorado’s defense wasn’t up to par. And once again, the Buffaloes struggled at the free-throw line.

Yet for the second time in as many games, CU managed to survive with a victory.

The CU men’s basketball team prevailed in a back-and-forth nonconference battle with Eastern Washington, posting a 102-97 overtime victory Saturday afternoon at the CU Events Center.

The game was tied 85-85 after regulation, and the Buffs received a huge break when Eastern Washington’s Straton Rogers was called for a pair of technical fouls with 3 minutes, 9 seconds remaining in overtime.

Sebastian Rancik and Isaiah Johnson promptly hit two free throws apiece to give CU a 90-85 lead, but the Eagles rallied, tying the game at 90-90 on a three-point play from Johnny Radford with 1:50 to play.

But Johnson and Elijah Malone answered with back-to-back 3-pointers, giving the Buffs a six-point lead, and after struggling at the free-throw line through the bulk of the game, CU went 11-for-14 at the line in the extra session to secure the win and improve to 2-0.

Rancik led the Buffs with a career-high 24 points, while Barrington Hargress recorded 14 points and four assists. Hargress’ former teammate at UC Riverside, Isaiah Moses, scored 30 points to lead Eastern Washington (0-3). The Eagles finished with a .597 shooting percentage.

This story will be updated

Colorado 102, Eastern Washington 97, OT

EASTERN WASHINGTON (0-3)

Huie 4-6 0-1 8, Marquardt 4-5 2-2 13, Moses 12-21 3-4 30, Radford 3-5 2-3 10, Rogers 3-3 0-0 6, Hamilton 6-11 6-7 18, Thomas 2-2 0-0 5, Powell 0-2 0-0 0, Scherer 1-3 0-0 2, Anderson 2-3 0-0 4, Winkel 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 37-62 14-19 97.

COLORADO (2-0)

Dak 3-9 2-6 8, Rancik 5-13 11-12 24, Malone 3-6 0-0 7, Hargress 6-10 1-2 14, Kossaras 2-3 3-4 8, Johnson 4-8 6-6 17, Michaeli 4-5 3-6 11, Sanders 2-2 1-3 5, Holland 0-3 0-0 0, Inman 3-4 0-0 8. Totals 32-63 27-39 102.

Halftime: Colorado 41-39; 3-Point Goals: Eastern Washington 9-16 (Marquardt 3-4, Moses 3-5, Radford 2-2, Thomas 1-1, Anderson 0-1, Powell 0-1, Hamilton 0-2), Colorado 11-23 (Johnson 3-6, Rancik 3-8, Inman 2-3, Hargress 1-1, Kossaras 1-1, Malone 1-1, Dak 0-1, Holland 0-2); Fouled Out: Rogers, Kossaras; Rebounds: Eastern Washington 30 (Hamilton 8), Colorado 33 (Dak 9); Assists: Eastern Washington 11 (Moses 5), Colorado 16 (Rancik, Hargress 4); Total Fouls: Eastern Washington 23, Colorado 20; A: 5,289 (11,064).