Grad transfers Jakimovski, Moore lead Colorado to 4th straight win, 88-66 over Harvard

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Andrej Jakimovski scored 20 points and Elijah Malone added another 16 as Colorado rolled to its fourth-straight win to start the season, knocking off Harvard 88-66 on Sunday.

The Buffaloes won their seventh straight home game dating back to last season and now have won 20 of their last 21 at home since the beginning of the 2023-24 season.

Evan Nelson hit a 3 to pull Harvard within five, 31-26 with four minutes left in the first half, but Javon Ruffin hit two 3-pointers and Jakimovski turned a three-point play to give Colorado a 46-34 lead at the break.

Malone hit two from the line and Trevor Baskin hit a 3 to push the Colorado lead to 51-34 less than two minutes into the second half.

Colorado shot 51.8% from the field (29 of 56) and knocked down 9 of 19 from behind the arc.

Three of the Buffaloes' four double-figure scorers are newcomers to the program. Jakimovski, a graduate transfer from Washington State, was 7 of 14, including 2 of 6 from deep. Moore, a grad transfer from NAIA member Grace College, was 6-of-6 from the line and grabbed seven rebounds. Baskin, a grad transfer from Division II Colorado Mesa, had 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Junior Javon Ruffin added 15 points and four assists while going 5-for-5 from the line.

Chandler Pigge and Nelson each scored 11 points to lead Harvard (1-4), which lost its fourth straight road game to start the season. Dutch Dowdell and Tey Barbour each added 10 points off the bench.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball