OMAHA – The University of Denver men's basketball team opened Summit League play with a loss on Friday, falling 91-84 to Omaha in Baxter Arena. The Pioneers fell to 5-10 (0-1 Summit League) on the season while the Mavericks climbed back to .500 with the win at 7-7 (1-0 SL).

Ronnie Harrell Jr., back in Omaha for the first time since his Creighton days, finished with career-high 25 points and eight rebounds.

Joe Rosga added 19 points, highlighted by going 4-for-9 from beyond the arc.

Donoven Carlisle recorded his first collegiate double-double, scoring 10 points to go with a career-best 13 rebounds.
JT Gibson led UNO with 22 points
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Omaha took a two-point advantage into the first media break, 7-5. Denver opened a little cold, missing its first three shots before a bucket in the paint by Tory Stewart-Miller got the Pioneers on the board.

Rosga got to work after that, scoring 10 points during the next several minutes that helped push the DU lead to eight at 21-13, its largest of the evening.

The Mavericks responded with a 6-0 run before a banked-in 3 from Alperen Kurnaz snapped it. UNO, though, found their rhythm again, getting hot late take the lead 36-33 on a 3 from Mitch Hahn.

Denver fought back late but went into the break trailing, 41-37.

A sluggish few minutes shooting was the difference in the first half, with the Pioneers shooting 41.7 percent (15-for-36) from the field, while Omaha shot 53.1 percent.

Second half started with Omaha using an 11-4 run to push its lead 11 at 52-41 before DU cut the lead to four with a 9-2 run of its own that made it a four-point contest. The run was highlighted by a no-look assist from Harrell Jr. to Carlisle, who scored it in the paint.

The Mavericks, again though, found some separation, building their lead back to seven after a free throw completed a three-point play from Matt Pile.

The Crimson and Gold gave one last push to make it a close game, but couldn't get any closer than six during the final few minutes, giving UNO the win.

Up Next
Denver closes out the two-game road trip with a contest in Macomb, Ill. on Sunday against Western Illinois. Tip-off is set for 3:30 p.m. MT.
 
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