Isaiah Johnson stuffed the stat sheet with 18 points, nine rebounds and seven assists while leading Colorado to a 79-70 win over Kansas State on Wednesday in Boulder, Colo.
The rebound and assist totals were season highs for the freshman.
Ian Inman contributed 17 points, Barrington Hargress tallied 15 points and Sebastian Rancik racked up 13 points for Colorado (16-12, 6-9 Big 12). Bangot Dak chipped in 10 points, six rebounds and four blocks as the Buffaloes won their second straight game.
P.J. Haggerty led Kansas State (11-17, 2-13) with 25 points and 10 rebounds. Nate Johnson and Andrej Kostic each added 10 points in the second straight loss for Kansas State.
Kostic capped an late 8-0 Kansas State run with a 3-pointer, and the Wildcats were down 73-70 with 2:13 to play.
After Johnson converted a pair of foul shots, the Buffaloes led by five. Dak and Rancik notched blocked shots on the next two Kansas State possessions, and the Buffaloes scored the game’s final six points from the foul line to seal the win.
A 16-0 run, with Hargress scoring the first five points, gave Colorado a 29-14 lead. The margin grew to 19 before Haggerty’s 3-pointer and layup got Kansas State within 37-23 at the 3:18 mark of the first half.
A full-court pass from Johnson connected with Haggerty, whose layup sealed a 10-2 Kansas State burst as the Wildcats got within 42-33 entering halftime.
The Wildcats tallied the first four points coming out of the locker room with Khamari McGriff’s layup cutting Kansas State’s deficit to 42-35.
Colorado answered with 17 points in a row, a surge that Rancik kicked off with a dunk. Inman sank a 3-pointer in the run that stretched the Buffaloes’ lead to 59-37.
Haggerty’s turnaround bank shot was the Wildcats’ first bucket in just over five minutes as Kansas State trailed 59-39 with 12:57 left.
The Wildcats subsequently went on a 15-2 spree that featured seven points from Haggerty. A Taj Manning layup cut Colorado’s lead to 64-57 with 6:38 to play.
Inman’s 3-pointer was the Buffaloes’ first field goal in more than eight minutes as Colorado led 71-61 with 3:49 remaining.
