MBB v Saint Joseph's (29 DEC 14) - Highlights
MBB v Saint Joseph's (29 DEC 14) - Post Game
MBB v Saint Joseph's (29 DEC 14) - Audio Only

Box Score

DENVER - Brett Olson (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) scored 27 points, grabbed five rebounds, dished out three assists and knocked down a deep 3-pointer with 16 seconds remaining in overtime to lead the University of Denver men's basketball team to a 77-73 victory over the Saint Joseph's Hawks on Monday night at Magness Arena.

The Pioneers (6-7) trailed the Hawks (6-5) by four points with 1:58 remaining in regulation and were able to tie the game after Cam Griffin (San Antonio, Texas) scored a bucket and Olson knocked down two free throws with 42 seconds remaining in the second half. After getting a stop on the defensive end, Denver gave themselves a chance to win it but had an Olson to Marcus Byrd (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) backdoor pass go out of bounds with 1.6 seconds left in regulation. A St. Joseph's desperation three-quarter court shot was missed and the game went into overtime.

"I'm really glad that our guys just competed tonight," head coach Joe Scott said. "We stayed with it all game and that's the thing that's going to carry us into league play."

Griffin and Nate Engesser (Colorado Springs, Colo.) scored 15 points apiece. Byrd scored 12 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished out four assists. Jalen Love (Wichita, Kan.) dished out a career-high seven assists.

Tied at 65 going into overtime the Crimson and Gold scored the first five points of overtime. Olson hit a three, followed by a Griffin two-point bucket. The Hawks cut it to 72-71 when Olson hit the dagger 3-pointer as the shot-clock was expiring and only 16 seconds remaining in overtime. After a Hawks bucket and timeout DU threw a long inbounds pass to Griffin who put the cap on the Pioneers victory with a massive one-handed dunk.

"St. Joe's had a seven point lead at half and we just talked about rebounding," Scott said. "I think our defense was better the whole second half. We came out in overtime and played the same way we did the entire second half."

Denver finished the game shooting 55.8 percent (29-of-52), while St. Joseph's shot 52.2 percent (24-of-46). The Pioneers shot 55.6 percent from behind the 3-point line (10-of-18). The Hawks shot 35.3 percent (6-of-17) from 3-point range.

The Pioneers came out firing hitting 5-of-6 from behind the arc to open a 15-4 in the first half. The Hawks answered by going on a 19-3 run to take a 23-18 lead. Olson led DU with 11 points, three rebounds and two assists in the first half.

Denver trailed at half 37-30. The Pioneers had nine assists on 10 made first half baskets.

Denver shot 47.6 percent (10-of-21) from the floor while St. Joseph's hit for 52.2 percent (12-of-23) in the first half. The Pioneers hit for 54.5 percent (6-of-11) from behind the arc in the first half. The Hawks shot 33.3 percent (3-of-9) from behind the 3-point line.

The Hawks were led by Isaiah Miles who had 24 points and DeAndre Bembry who had 20 points, eight rebounds and three blocks.

Notes: With his 27 points Olson moved into 17^th place on the all-time University of Denver scoring list. Olson now 1,210 points in his career. Denver outscored St. Joe's 34-26 in the paint and 15-12 on points off of turnovers.

Denver will open Summit League play Friday, Jan. 2 at 7 p.m. MT as they welcome South Dakota State in a game that can be seen on ROOT Sports and heard on Mile High Sports Radio 94.1 FM.

Fans interested in purchasing tickets can do so by phone at 303-871-2336, in person at the Ritchie Center box office or through DenverPioneers.com by clicking here.

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