It wasn't pretty by any means, but Tad Boyle's young Colorado squad managed to hold on down the stretch after building a commanding lead to beat Kansas State.
The Buffs gave up a wide-open layup on an inbounds pass late in the first half—one that couldn't have made Tad Boyle happy as Kansas State cut the lead to nine going into the break.
Colorado led by as much as 22 in this game before watching their lead shrink to just three with under two minutes remaining.
Bangot Dak and Sebastian Rancik blocked shots on consecutive possessions, sending Isaiah Johnson to the free-throw line both times.
Three takeaways from Colorado's 79-70 win over Kansas State
Ian Inman appears to be hitting his stride.
The freshman hit a trio of three-pointers in the first half to set the tone for the bench.
He logged 19 minutes Wednesday night, draining 5-of-7 from beyond the arc on his way to a season-high 17 points.
He scored 17 of Colorado's 21 bench points.
The defense in the last two minutes was spectacular.
As mentioned earlier, Dak and Rancik had back-to-back blocks in crunch time, leading to free throws for Johnson.
Dak added four blocks in the contest, helping Colorado finish with seven as a team.
Dak also chipped in 10 points to go along with six rebounds in 28 minutes.
It was a well-rounded effort from everyone involved.
Colorado nearly squandered a large lead, but they're a young team and they'll learn from this game.
Four of Colorado's five starters scored in double figures, led by Isaiah Johnson's team-high 18 points on 5-of-11 shooting. Johnson also hauled down nine rebounds and dished out seven assists.
Colorado also outrebounded Kansas State 43-36, giving them a +7 advantage in the game.
With the win, Colorado doubled their conference win total from last season, jumping from three victories to six.
Colorado has three games remaining in the regular season, including matchups against two top-five teams: at Houston and Arizona.