Tad Boyle ties all-time wins record in Buffaloes win over Northern Colorado

Tad Boyle made history in the Colorado Buffaloes win over the Northern Colorado Bears. The 87-77 victory was Boyle’s 261st win as the head coach of the Buffs, tying him Sox Walseth for the school’s all-time record.

This record-tying victory didn’t come as early as it should have — Boyle is disappointed the Buffs are just 7-5 at this point in the season — but the timing works out considering the opponent. Boyle’s head coaching career began in Greeley, his hometown. He took over Northern Colorado as they transitioned from Division II, then built them into one of the best programs in the Big Sky Conference. The Bears reached the NCAA Tournament the year after Boyle left for Boulder.

Boyle will be happy with this result, mostly because of how his team played, particularly Tristan da Silva. The best all-around player on the team, da Silva hasn’t consistently put it all together but that may have changed. The Bavarian forward just posted a career high 25 in CU’s win over North Alabama, then eclipsed it with 26 today. He did everything, hitting threes, meandering into the paint and drawing fouls, doing little things to make his teammates better.

Da Silva wasn’t alone as a standout performer. K.J. Simpson put together another strong game, scoring 18 points on just 10 shots and adding four assists. Nique Clifford went hard on the boards, J’Vonne Hadley remains a solid contributor, and bench players Julian Hammond and Javon Ruffin made the most of their minutes, scoring 23 points between them.

If there’s anything for Tad to be upset about, it’s that his team struggled to slow UNC’s talented guard. Daylen Kountz made his anticipated return to Boulder and put up 17 points, although on inefficient shooting. Dalton Knecht was more of a problem, as the Colorado native scored 24 points and consistently created open space to shoot. Good thing the Buffs shot well because they needed it.

Next up for Colorado is a home game against Southern Utah on Wednesday, Dec. 21 at 5:00 p.m. MT. After the Thunderbirds, the Buffs will take a few days off for the holidays, then travel to Stanford and Cal to begin the Pac-12 slate.