FORT COLLINS – The University of Denver men's basketball team battled hard before falling late to regional in-state foe Colorado State on Tuesday, 74-63 in Moby Arena. The Pioneers had four players score in double figures.

Ade Murkey led DU with a game-high 18 points and four rebounds. The Minneapolis, Minn. native went 8-for-14 from the field, getting to the rim against an athletic Ram team.

Roscoe Eastmond, making his collegiate debut, showed some serious potential from the point guard position, coming off the bench to score 10 points and hand out two assists. The freshman caused problems for CSU with his speed and decision making.

Sophomores David Nzekwesi and Taelyr Gatlin each added 10 points.

Colorado State was led by 18 from Kris Martin.

Gatlin provided a spark right out the gate for Denver, scoring five quick points in the opening minutes to keep it a one-point contest going into the first media timeout.

The Rams exploded with an 8-0 run out of the timeout to push their lead to nine at 16-7, getting some easy scores in transition. Townsend ended the run with a spin and score in the paint, giving him his first two points of the evening.

CSU extended its lead to as many as 15 before the Pioneers started showing their resolve, cutting the lead down to eight by the half at 34-26.

Gatlin had it rolling in the first half, tying his career high with 10 points on some good outside shooting, going 2-for-3 from beyond the arc.

Defense kept the Pioneers in the game, limiting a fast-paced Colorado State team to just 34 points on 35.7 percent shooting from the field.
In the second half, the Crimson and Gold closed to within six after some big plays from Eastmond.

The Rams, however, responded with a 10-2 run to push their lead to 14, forcing Denver to take a timeout and regroup.

The Pioneers again showed its fight, cutting the CSU advantage down to nine after a 3 from Joseph Lanzi with 2:14 remaining in regulation. Murkey stepped up late during the run, scoring at the rim and from beyond the arc.

Colorado State held on from there to seal the win.

UP NEXT
Denver returns to action for its home opener on Saturday against Utah Valley. Tip is set for 1 pm as part of a doubleheader with women's basketball. Game can be seen on Altitude.

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