Ian Inman put on the kind of shooting display that changes a game in a hurry, and Colorado needed every bit of it Tuesday night at the CU Events Center.
The Buffaloes erased an early deficit and knocked off San Diego 83-75 behind Inman’s career-high 26 points and eight made 3-pointers. Colorado trailed by as many as eight in the first half before settling in, finding its rhythm from deep and leaning on a late push from Inman and Josiah Sanders to finish the job.
Colorado improved to 2-1, while San Diego fell to 2-1.
Inman’s eight triples tied for the second-most in a single game in program history, and he became the first Buffaloes player to hit that mark since Kenny Price against Texas on Feb. 28, 1998.
“Man, it feels good,” Inman said about the feat. “It's amazing what you can do as a group when you come together, and you collectively work together hard in practice. And I'm super proud of my guys.”
He wasn’t the only Buffaloes guard making noise. Barrington Hargress scored 16 points after his 33-point outing against San Diego State, Sanders added 15, and Noah Feddersen finished with 10. Colorado also got 23 assists, a sharp jump from the loss to San Diego State on Saturday.
“That's Colorado basketball,” Boyle said. “That's the team that we need to be this year. We need to be the team that's making plays for each other.”
“We believe that our high-assist games are successful games,” guard Barrington Hargress added. “That's going to be something that we always aim for.”
The Buffs shot 51% from the floor and hit 13 of 31 from 3-point range, good for 42%. San Diego finished at 41.8% shooting.
Colorado had to work through some rough patches before the shot-making took over. San Diego opened with a 9-4 lead after making three of its first five field goals and two free throws, and the Toreros stretched that edge to eight in the first half.
Then Colorado’s defense started to bite. Hargress picked off a pass at the right baseline, went end to end, and finished a layup to trim the margin to 11-10. Not long after, Inman caught fire, drilling three 3-pointers in a little more than a minute and a half to pull CU within 32-28.
The Buffs kept chipping away before halftime. Layups from Alex Dickeson and Sanders cut the gap to 37-34, and Colorado went into the break having out-rebounded San Diego 18-15 despite eight turnovers.
Inman stayed hot after halftime. He knocked down two more 3s in the second half, including a fast-break bomb after Noah Feddersen blocked Davion Hill at the rim and sent the ball the other way. That play tied the game at 40-40 with 16 minutes left.
A minute later, Inman buried his sixth 3-pointer to give Colorado its first lead, 45-44. Hargress then joined the perimeter barrage, hitting back-to-back 3s to help push the Buffs ahead 52-49 with 11:29 remaining.
San Diego answered and briefly reclaimed the lead at 59-56 while Colorado hit another dry spell, making just one of seven shots before the media timeout. But the Buffs responded quickly. Feddersen finished a fast-break alley-oop from Dickeson with a dunk to get CU within 59-58.
After the Toreros scored five straight, Inman drilled another 3 and Feddersen added his first basket from deep to pull Colorado within 65-64 with 5:27 to play.
The final swing came from Hargress. He drew a foul on a 3-point attempt, made two free throws, then finished a fast-break layup on the next trip down the floor. Those back-to-back plays gave Colorado a 70-67 lead with three minutes left, and the Buffs never gave it back.
Inman put the exclamation point on the night with less than a minute remaining, stepping into a corner 3 and stretching the lead to 78-72. Both teams traded free throws from there, and Colorado closed it out 83-75.
In Other News...
Colorado Just Got A Recruiting Boost Fans Will Read Into
Colorado picked up a meaningful boost on the recruiting trail when four-star tackle LiMarcus Jones decided to stay committed after briefly flipping to Mississippi State. For a program that has spent plenty of time fighting to keep top prospects in the fold, retaining Jones gives the Buffaloes a little more stability in a 2027 class that already sits fourth in the Big 12.
The timing matters because Jones said Colorados coaching staff, including Deion Sanders, told him they will remain with the program in 2027. In a recruiting cycle where coaching continuity can shape everything from trust to class momentum, that kind of message carries real weight, and it gives Colorado a stronger footing as it tries to hold the rest of the class together. [Read more 🡒]
Colorado Injury Report Suddenly Raises A New Lineup Question
A positive injury update gave Colorado a little more to sort through this week, with linebacker Tyler Martinez suddenly listed as questionable for the Buffaloes Week 11 game. Martinez had been presumed out for the season after a foot injury, so his status alone changes the conversation around a defense that has had to keep adjusting on the fly. Other players, including Braylon Edwards, also showed improvement on the report, offering a small lift for a team still managing several health concerns.
Martinez has not played since Week 4, but his possible return would add another option to the linebacking rotation alongside Gideon Lampron and Liona Lefau. Even so, Colorado is not out of the woods yet, with injuries to Welch and Scudero still a concern. For a Buffaloes defense trying to stabilize late in the season, the question is no longer just who is available, but how quickly the group can absorb another possible change. [Read more 🡒]
Colorado Faces A Season-Saving Test With Bowl Hopes On The Line
The stakes at Folsom Field could hardly be clearer for Colorado, which gets No. 16 Houston on Friday night in a game that feels like a season marker as much as a conference showdown. The Buffaloes need to win their final three games to reach bowl eligibility, and this one is the first and most immediate hurdle in that chase, with kickoff set for 8:15 p.m. MT on ESPN.
Houston brings a ranked opponent into Boulder and a quarterback in Conner Weigman who gives the Cougars a steady presence in a game Colorado cannot afford to let slip away. For the Buffaloes, it is the kind of November test that can either keep postseason hopes alive or leave the margin for error gone before the final stretch even begins. [Read more 🡒]