Buffs win first Aussie exhibition match, beat Hoops City 92-82

Colorado’s 1-0 so far on their summer trip Down Under

It’s not even August, but the Colorado Buffaloes’ basketball season has already kicked off with a bang, beating Hoops City in the first of four scheduled exhibition matches on their summer tour of Australia.

The final score out of Melbourne was 92-82 in the Buffs’ favor, convincingly beating Hoops City by double digits. While no box score or full video of the game is available, CU Basketball’s Twitter account provided some important updates from the game.

Colorado finished the first quarter up 30-21, capped off by a buzzer-beating three-pointer by UC Riverside transfer point guard Barrington Hargress. Hargress was the only big-name transfer that coach Tad Boyle was able to land in the portal this offseason, so this clutch moment Down Under is hopefully a sign of good things to come.

At the half, Hoops City fought back and cut the lead to only four points, as the Buffs headed to the locker rooms with a 46-42 lead.

The second half was seemingly all in Colorado’s favor, as CU led at the end of the third quarter and won by a margin of 10 points. The only nugget of information we have is this video of a slick feed by Isaiah Johnson, followed by a Josiah Sanders layup, both freshmen. Colorado will need their freshmen to step up if they want to take a big step within the Big 12 this year, so this Australia trip is massive for their development.

Beating Hoops City, credited as Australia’s best basketball development program, by 10 points might seem unsatisfying, but a win is a win at the end of the day. The Buffs are now 1-0 on their Aussie trip and have their biggest challenge of the trip coming up next.

CU will face off against the Australian Boomers National Team twice, both on July 27 and August 1 in Cairns. The Boomers roster is littered with NBL talent, which should prove to be a real test for the Buffs.

If you’re itching for more Colorado hoops since the season ended, you can tune into both games on ESPN+ at 2:30 a.m. MT. That’s certainly early, but it should be a fun matchup.