The blueprint early was following the format from the bulk of the first three games for the Colorado men’s basketball team.

Too many turnovers, combined with an inability to slow opposing 3-point shooters, and all of a sudden the Buffaloes were in a slugfest at home against a physically overmatched opponent.

At times during CU’s 3-0 start, particularly in a double-overtime win against Northern Colorado, the Buffs merely survived their shortcomings. This time they put their foot down, stopped the bleeding, and ran away with a victory.

Overcoming an early flurry of turnovers and a hot start from long range by visiting Harvard, the Buffs posted an 88-66 win on Sunday at the CU Events Center.

The Buffs capped the season-opening, four-game homestand at 4-0 and will have a week to prepare for a date against Michigan State in the opening game of the Maui Invitational.

CU finished with a season-low 13 turnovers, and after Harvard went 6-for-13 on 3-pointers in the first half, the Buffs held the Crimson to a 2-for-10 mark from long range after halftime. Harvard opened the game by making five 3-pointers before connecting on any 2-pointers.

“We did a much better job in the second half,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said. “Much better job taking care of the ball. They only made two 3s in the second half. Did a better job of guarding the 3-point line. We felt like at halftime that’s the only way they can get back into the game, is if we continue to turn it over, and then they made a bunch of 3s like they made in the first half. That allowed them to hang around longer than they should have.”

The Crimson was within 31-28 of the Buffs with 3 minutes, 56 seconds remaining in the first half, but CU ended the frame on a 15-6 run, taking a 46-34 lead at the break.

CU pushed its lead to 17 early in the second half before the Crimson rallied, using a 14-3 run to get within 56-50 with 11:22 remaining. But CU answered with a 21-4 run that sealed the win.

The Buffs committed six turnovers within the first 10 minutes, setting a pace for their second 20-turnover game in four outings. Instead, CU committed only three more the remainder of the first half, then recorded only two in the first 14:49 of the second half before suffering a couple late giveaways with the game well out of reach.

“Everyone talked at halftime, we were like, all right guys, we’ve had three games where we turned it over too much. So we really made that an (emphasis),” CU guard Javon Ruffin said. “We did a pretty good job, for the most part. I think it still could’ve been a little better. We had some sloppy turnovers.”

Four players scored double-figure points for the Buffs, led by 20 points and five rebounds from forward Andrej Jakimovski. Elijah Malone went 6-for-6 on free throws with 16 points and seven rebounds, and Ruffin scored a career-high 15 points while adding four assists.

The Buffs topped the 50% mark from the floor for a second consecutive game, finishing at .518, and went 9-for-19 on 3-pointers. CU continued a solid opening run on the boards, outrebounding Harvard 43-30. Yet the Buffs know that following a week of practice, they no longer will hold an automatic physical advantage once they line up against the elite competition in store in Maui.

“We have a lot of versatility. We all have size,” Jakimovski said. “I don’t (Harvard) was a really good box-out team, so our game plan was just attack the glass and get as many rebounds as possible.”