Six days after a loss at the hands of No. 12 Tennessee, in which Colorado's 47 points scored was a program-low dating back to the 33 points scored on the road in an unforgettably bad game at Wyoming in 2014, the Buffaloes (3-1) hosted Northern Colorado in their 2020-2021 home opener.

In a defensively stout, well-spread offensive performance, the Buffs downed the visiting Bears, 81-45.

With the Bears (2-1) bringing in four players averaging more than 10 points per game — including former Buffalo Daylen Kountz, who transferred to UNC in March — Tad Boyle had his players get up close and personal with their competition via a regular full-court press.

Even up 45-21 at halftime, the Buffs continued on with the press despite their sizable lead.

"I felt like our big advantage on Northern Colorado was our depth," Boyle said. "We wanted the pace to be up and down...but I think the biggest thing was that we wanted to wear them down and wear their guards down."

Kountz's return to the CU Events Center was noticeable as the game got underway, as he had a monstrous block on CU senior guard Maddox Daniels in the defensive zone and also got airborne for an emphatic dunk with just under 11 minutes remaining before the halfway point.

But even then, the Bears were in trouble, as Colorado led, 18-10 and within five minutes, would take a 34-12 lead courtesy of 16-0 run.

That run was indicative of how the evening went for Colorado, as six different Buffs chipped in points, led by junior forward Evan Battey with five.

Ultimately, Colorado's 36-point margin of victory ensured Kountz wouldn't be heading back to Greeley with a smile on his face. He finished the game with just five points on 2-of-9 shooting.

Battey got himself going early, finishing a couple touches near the rim in the opening minutes and ending the first half with a team-high 12 points.

For Battey, whose 12 first half points eclipsed the nine points he'd managed over Colorado's last two games, finding an offensive stride came as a relief for he, his teammates and coaches alike.

He ended the night with 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds, giving the Buffs a consistent presence in the pain on both offense and defense.

"We want to establish an inside presence every game," Battey said. "I feel like tonight we did that. It's imperative that we play inside-out during our games."

Senior center Dallas Walton also proved to be an early offensive spark for the Buffaloes.

Through three games leading into Monday's showdown with the Bears, Walton had looked to improve on his ability to stay out of foul trouble.

He fouled out in the season opener vs. South Dakota, had three against K-State, but turned in a more disciplined night at the office vs. Tennessee, as he was called for a lone personal foul in the loss.

Against Northern Colorado, Walton continued to trend in the right direction with respect to fouls, as he had just one against the Bears.

Overall, it was an efficient 24 minutes on the hardwood for the 7-footer, with Walton contributing 12 points and four boards.

"It's just about making sure to give the referees no opportunities to call a foul on me," Walton said. "When I go to block shots, it's just hands up. Even If I don't get a hand on the ball, I know that I'm affecting the shot."

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After largely being neutralized last week at Tennessee, senior point guard McKinley Wright IV had a resurgent performance vs. the Bears, ending the game with 19 points, five boards and seven assists on 8-of-10 shooting.

While the win was certainly done in spread-the-wealth fashion from an offensive standpoint, the one Buffalo who noticeably did not participate much in the fun was senior guard/forward D'Shawn Schwartz.

Schwartz, who made his first start of the season tonight and his second appearance for CU after missing the first two games of the year due to a positive COVID test, began the game 0-for-3 from the floor.

He drilled a three-pointer in the second half, snapping an 0-for-8 start to the season and notching his first points of the year, but the Colorado Springs native still looks like he's working to shake off some rust.

Though the Buffaloes finished the game with three players contributing points in the double digits, the convincing win was equally, if not more, of a defensive product.

Colorado comfortably edged the Bears in the rebounding department, 40-28 and also allowed just 18 points in the paint. For comparison's sake, the Buffs had 44.

On top of that, Colorado forced UNC into committing 21 turnovers.

"We knew that we had an advantage down low and in order to open up the floor for our shooters like D'Shawn (Schwartz) and Maddox (Daniels) even our guards like Keeshawn (Barthelemy) and (McKinley Wright), we need to establish ourselves down low and establishing inside presence," Walton said.

"It was nice getting those looks early and seeing a collective approach to our game plan in playing inside out. It's something we like to do and something we'll look to continue to do as the year progresses."

Late in the second half, up by 28, the Buffaloes proved they had more than a little bit of offense left in the tanks.

Back-to-back three-pointers from Wright IV began another 16-0 run, with Schwartz and grad transfer forward Jeriah Horne also draining long balls.

Freshman guard Luke O'Brien provided the final two points of the run, and before the Bears knew it, their deficit had gone from bad to worse, with the Buffaloes going up 80-41 with 2:08 left in the game.

If anything, Colorado's win over UNC should go as an example of how good this 2020-2021 squad can be when it robustly defends for a full 40 minutes and its leaders produce in a manner becoming of upperclassmen.

"We've got a chance to be really good — there's no doubt about it," Boyle said. "...I'm really pleased with everybody that played tonight, but we can still get better."

The Buffs will take the day off on Tuesday and return to action at the CU Events Center on Wednesday afternoon vs. Nebraska Omaha.

The Mavericks and Buffaloes tipoff at 3 p.m. MST. You can catch the game on the Pac-12 Network.