Colorado’s battle in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament wasn’t flawless but strong enough to beat Boise State, 60-53, and help the team record its program-best 25th win.

In Dayton, Ohio, close friends and head coaches Tad Boyle and Leon Rice found their teams in a physical battle that the Buffs ultimately took advantage of late in the game. Both CU and the Broncos maintained their high-intensity frontcourt fight throughout the game until KJ Simpson and company went on an 11-0 run in the final five minutes.

Before that pivotal stretch for Colorado, the Buffs trailed the Broncos by only one possession. Each squad traded buckets until the switch flipped with CU’s offensive effort and its season on the line.

“We finally played with unbelievable toughness, Boyle said in the postgame interview with Jon Rothstein. “... We started playing tougher on the glass. I mean Boise State is a physical team, they keep coming at ya and we made just enough plays down the stretch.”

Simpson, Tristan da Silva, Eddie Lampkin and J’Vonne Hadley all were involved in that final push to create separation. What helped the most was Simpson’s tenacity in drawing fouls to give the Buffs eight extra points in the final four minutes.

Still, even after CU’s 11-0 run, Boise State trailed by five points with 17 seconds left. The refs took multiple trips to the monitor in the last minute and those calls broke in Colorado’s favor.

Simpson (19 points), da Silva (20 points) and Lampkin (13 points) commanded Colorado’s offensive push in the second half.

Neither team put together its best offensive performance, but Boyle’s emphasis on defense was quite present as the Broncos shot 34.3% from the field, 11.1% from 3 and recorded their lowest scoring first half of the season with 24 points.

The Buffs held Boise State’s Tyson Degenhart, who leads the team averaging 17 points per game, to just six points.

Along with Simpson’s 19 points, he also recorded a career-high 11 rebounds. However, Colorado didn’t win the battle on the glass after being outrebounded 41-31, including 19 offensive rebounds by Boise State.

"I love Leon," Boyle said. "I love his family. It's no fun playing your friends. There's no doubt about it, but got great respect for him and their program. ... I'll tell you what, the Buffaloes have had a hell of a year."

Survive and advance is the mantra for March and Colorado now moves on as the No. 10 seed to face No. 7 seed Florida Friday at 2:30 p.m. MT in Indianapolis.

"We got short prep which is just the nature of the beast," Boyle said on preparing for Florida. "We'll get rest tomorrow, get down to Indy and cram for the Gators."