SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Powered by a dominant defensive performance, the University of Denver men's basketball team erased a 13-point second-half deficit to knock off Cal State Fullerton, 65-62 at the Leavey Center on Friday. The Pioneers improved to 3-4 on the year, while the Titans dropped to 3-4.

It marked the second game in the Cable Car Classic for the Crimson and Gold.

The DU defense was the story of the day, holding CSF to without a field goal the final 9:15 of regulation.

Freshman Robert Jones, making his first collegiate start, stepped up in a big way. The Prior Lake, Minn. native finished with a season-high 16 points and five rebounds, which included making two clutch free throws late to put Denver up for good with 23 seconds left in the game.

Ade Murkey scored a team-high 17 points, highlighted by going a perfect 9-for-9 from the foul line. Murkey also added five rebounds and two assists.

The Crimson and Gold had its best night of the year at the line, shooting 23-for-28, both season bests.

Cal State Fullerton was led by a game-high 18 points from Austin Awosika.

Pioneers got off to a much better start than on Wednesday, trading buckets with the Titans in the opening minutes. Jones was a factor right out the gate, scoring two quick buckets down low while cleaning up rebounds on the glass.

Both teams kept it close during the first eight minutes, with CSF taking a three-point lead at the under-12 media timeout, up 17-14.

Denver retook the lead at 18-17 after a nice finish at the rim from Joseph Lanzi, his first two points of the contest.

Neither team could find separation for the remainder of the half, trading baskets with each other, resulting in a 30-30 tie at the half.

DU's perimeter defense held strong during the first 20 minutes, limiting CSF to just 3-for-13 (23.1 percent) shooting from beyond the arc.

Jones' eight points paced the Crimson and Gold in the half.

Denver opened the second half strong, going on a 6-0 run. The solid open was due to some good ball movement resulting in open looks and a powerful performance on the defensive end, a trend that would continue late, holding Cal State Fullerton scoreless for just over the first two minutes.

A 6-0 run from the Titans gave them lead at 44-42, forcing the Pioneers to call a timeout and regroup.

Cal State Fullerton continued its monster run, pushing the lead to 13, its largest, at 59-46 after a made 3 from Tory San Antonio with 9:15 left on the clock.

But that's about the last good thing that happened for the Titans, when the DU defense began to take over the game, forcing CSF into tough shots on numerous occasions the rest of the way.

Murkey started the Crimson and Gold comeback by getting aggressive and driving to the lane, resulting in multiple trips to the foul line. The senior sparked a 10-0 run, with the first seven coming from the charity stripe.

A big 3-point play the old-fashioned way from Alperen Kurnaz capped off the game-changing run, making it a one-possession contest at 59-56 with just over five minutes left on the clock.

Denver finally took the lead late after Jones was fouled 23 seconds left, sending the big man to the line. Jones connected on both and gave the Pioneers a one-point edge at 63-62.

DU then forced a turnover and got two more at the line from Lanzi to secure the comeback victory.

UP NEXT:
Denver closes out the Cable Car Classic with a meeting with Southeast Missouri State (2-4) on Saturday.  Tip is set for 2 p.m. MT.

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