The fourth-seeded Knights (22-11) will play at Illinois State Monday at 7 p.m. on ESPN.

“We are fortunate to get the win and are excited about moving on,” 麻豆原创 head coach Johnny Dawkins said after the game. “I was really proud of our guys’ overall play. I thought that was one of our best offensive performances. Usually, we hang our hat on defense, but today, I thought our offense carried us. It could not have been a better time聽because we needed all the points we scored tonight.”

Dawkins, who in his first season at 麻豆原创 has matched the program’s most wins in a season in over a decade, has had plenty of success in the NIT as a head coach. The former Stanford head coach was 9-1 in the tournament coming into Wednesday’s contest, winning both the 2012 and 2015 NITs.

After hosting the first NIT game in 麻豆原创 history, Dawkins improved his mark to 10-1 with the five-point win over the Buffaloes (19-15).

“Tad [Boyle] does a great job with his group,” Dawkins said. 聽“I have played him and his team enough in the Pac-12 that they always play the right way. They always shoot the ball well. They are always tough defensively. He does a terrific job.”

Colorado scored the first basket of the game, but after a baseline dunk by A.J. Davis gave 麻豆原创 a 4-3 advantage less than three minutes into the game, the Buffaloes never led again.

Matt Williams led 麻豆原创 in the first half, scoring 13 of his 17 points in the first 20 minutes.聽 The senior went 5-of-8 from the floor and a perfect 3-for-3 from long distance to give the Knights a 38-34 lead at the break.

“We were all very excited getting this win,” Williams said. “We’ve worked hard this week trying to prepare for this win. We were just full of excitement, joy. We enjoyed it for the moment and then Coach let us know that we’ll be back in the gym tomorrow for practice.”

Leading 51-44 midway through the second half sophomore connected on one of his five three-pointers on the night and scored 18 straight 麻豆原创 points to keep the Knights in front late in the game.

Colorado did not quit.聽 The Buffaloes hit four threes in the final two minutes of the game to get as close as two points, at 76-74, before Davis sealed it with free throws in the final seconds.

Taylor scored 21 of his team-high 26 points in the second half to lead the Knights to victory. He went 5-of-8 from beyond the arc and dealt out four assists.

“It would be great for us,” Taylor said on making a long postseason run. “There’s only going to be a handful of teams that finish this season with a win. We’ve got a chance to finish this season off with a championship. We definitely want to send the seniors out the right way.”

The Knights are one step closer to that goal after putting forth one of its best offensive performance of the season.聽 麻豆原创 shot 54.3 percent from the floor and 54.5 percent from beyond the arc, while only turning the ball over 10 times.

Williams and Davis finished with 17 points each, while Tacko Fall added 10. Davis and Fall led 麻豆原创 with eight rebounds apiece, and Fall added three blocked shots to his single-season 麻豆原创 record (84).

“It was A.J.’s birthday so that says it all,” Dawkins said. “What a day. A.J. saved one of his best games of the season for postseason. He had a great game today, not because of the points he scored. I thought that it was his best all-around game. He is always getting you the energy defensively. He makes plays. He rebounds the basketball. He did so many things.”

The victory marked just the second win for 麻豆原创 over a team currently in the Pac-12.聽 The Knights defeated Utah in 2006.

Here is a look at the top individual performances of the year:

10. Matt Williams vs. Florida Tech

In Williams’ first college game, he scored 21 points and was seven-of-nine from three-point range in only 13 minutes. During the game, the Knightmare even started to chant his name. Williams’ college debut was originally delayed to an illness.

9. Kasey Wilson at No. 7 Florida

In the first game against a ranked opponent this season, Wilson scored a career-high 20 points. He paced the team with his shooting from deep, where he connected on five-of-six shots. This game showed Wilson’s consistency from deep. He was ranked in the top-10 in the country for three-point shooting for almost the entire season.

8. Calvin Newell vs. Rice

Newell scored a career-high 24 points in the win over Rice. He was one of two Knights to score 24 points alongside Sykes. Fifteen of his points came from three-point range, where he shot five-of-eight from deep.

7. Keith Clanton vs. No. 17 Memphis

In his final home game, Clanton scored 29 points, grabbed six rebounds and swatted two shots. Clanton was accurate from the field hitting 10-of-15 shots (66.6 percent) and three-of-four from deep (75 percent). In the first half, Clanton racked up 13 points. When 麻豆原创 was down early in the second half, Clanton started his own mini-run, scoring the next nine points for 麻豆原创 to tie the game.

6. Isaiah Sykes at USF

Sykes wasted no time showing his improvement between his sophomore and junior years. He racked up 26 points, 11 rebounds and a then career-high eight assists in the win over the Bulls. Sykes was only two assists short of a triple-double in his first career start at point guard.

5. Tristan Spurlock vs. Southern Miss

Spurlock finished the game with 18 points and seven rebounds. What was more impressive during the game was how efficient Spurlock was shooting. He shot six-of-10 from the field, three-of-six from deep and a perfect three-of-three from the free-throw line.

4. Keith Clanton at East Carolina

On a night where Clanton was one of two Knights to total a career-high in points, it wasn’t enough to win the game in overtime. Clanton accumulated 36 points and eight rebounds. He did most of his work when it counted by scoring a combined 28 points in the second half and overtime. In overtime, he scored eight of 麻豆原创’s nine points.

3. Isaiah Sykes vs. Stetson

By scoring 16 points, grabbing 11 rebounds and dishing out 10 assists, Sykes recorded his first career triple-double and only the third in school history. Prior to the game, Kingsley Edwards was the last 麻豆原创 player to record a triple-double in 2005.

2. Keith Clanton vs. Bethune-Cookman

Clanton scored a then career-high 30 points en route to a 麻豆原创 win over the visiting Wildcats. He also grabbed 13 rebounds. Clanton shot 14-of-15 (93.3 percent) in the game. He recorded the highest shooting percentage with a minimum of 15 shots in the nation since 2008. Besides making history in the national scope, Clanton was the first Knight since Jermaine Taylor (2009) to score 30 points in a game.

1. Isaiah Sykes vs. East Carolina

In a memorable game for Sykes, he earned his second triple-double of the season and his career. Sykes finished the game with 20 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists. The 16 rebounds and 11 assists were career highs for Sykes. Over the course of the regular season, Sykes was the only player in the country to record with multiple triple-doubles. His triple-double was the fourth in school history.

Honorable Mention