Colorado outscored California Baptist 46-36 in the second half to earn their first 8-0 start since the 1949-50 season.
3 Takeaways from Colorado Basketball's 8th straight win
Colorado bounced back from rough start in first half
Despite Colorado's average of 90 points per game, they couldn't find the bottom of the net in the first ten minutes. California Baptist had the clamps on them, going on an 18-5 run to start. Dominique Daniels Jr. was the catalyst, scoring 10 points while added four rebounds, two assists, and a steal.
Only 11 of Colorado's 32 points came from the starting unit in the first half, as they shot just 37 percent and 25 percent from three. Isaiah Johnson led the surge for the bench unit, scoring nine points on 3-of-5 shooting, including 3-of-4 from the chairty stripe.
Colorado's bench scored 21 points in the half, bringing energy and keeping them afloat. A 14-point deficit turned into just two for Colorado, which trailed 34-32 at half.
Bench unit continues to produce
As mentioned in the first takeaway, Tad Boyle's bench continues to shine early on in the season.
Isaiah Johnson is at his best when he's attacking, and he did just that Monday night. The freshman guard scored nine of his 17 points at the line, finishing with a team-high 17 points. He also added three rebounds and three assists.
Alon Michaeli has been a tremendous addition to that bench unit as well. He scored 11 points on 4-of-8 from the field, adding seven rebounds, one assist, and one block. Josiah Sanders chipped in seven points of his own.
Finished strong as a unit
California Baptist and Daniels Jr. gave Colorado all they could handle, but Colorado rallied with an incredible run in the second half.
Bangot Dak didn't record a point until midway through the second half where he sunk a pair of free throws. He propelled a 16-0 run with a block that led to a layup by Barrington Hargress, and later sunk a three to put Colorado ahead by twelve.
Felix Kossaras put the icing on the cake. With Colorado only up four with under a minute to go, he hit a fadeaway elbow jumper as the shot clock expired, pushing Colorado's lead to six with 46 seconds left.