Isaiah Johnson stole the show. But it was Elijah Malone who did the dirty work that lifted Colorado to victory.

The CU men’s basketball team opened the 2025-26 campaign with a thrilling 84-78 victory against Montana State at home on Monday night, with Johnson scoring 12 of the Buffaloes’ final 14 points to save CU from an upset bid.

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Malone, though, was the glue that held CU together until the Johnson’s late heroics. The sixth-year center finished with his second double-double with CU — technically his second in a row, as he recorded one in the final game of last season — as the Buffs improved to 16-0 in home openers under head coach Tad Boyle.

Malone was just 2-for-3 from the field, but he went 6-for-9 at the free throw line before finishing with 10 points. Malone also

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