FORT WAYNE, Ind.  – The University of Denver men's basketball team fell in a defensive battle on Wednesday at Purdue Fort Wayne, 58-51 in the Gates Sports Center. The Pioneers couldn't overcome a slow start that resulted in a season-low 14 points in the first half.

Ade Murkey used a strong second half to finish with a team-high 20 points, his eighth game out of the last nine with at least 20. The Minneapolis, Minn. provided the outside shooting, knocking down four of DU's five 3s in the contest.

Robert Jones added 14 points.

Deonte Billups had a game-high 21 points for the Mastodons.

Dylan Carl finished with a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds.

The story of the game was the Crimson and Gold's offense in each half, being outscored 31-14 in the first 20 minutes and outscoring PFW 37-27 in the second half.

Purdue Fort Wayne jumped out to a 17-8 lead by the 8:16 mark in the first half after an ice-cold start from Denver on the offensive end, who opened 4-for-18 from the field. Jones was the lone bright spot, scoring six of the Pioneers' first eight points.

Things didn't get much better from there, allowing for the Mastodons to take a 31-14 lead into halftime.

Denver's 14 points marked a new season low for points scored in a half this year.

Rebounding was a major factor in the opening 20 minutes, with PFW outrebounding DU 28-12, resulting in a 12-0 advantage in second-chance points.

Murkey came out and immediately took over in the opening four minutes of the second half, scoring all 12 points, all from beyond on the arc, to start to bring Denver back within nine by at 35-26, forcing Purdue Fort Wayne to take a timeout.

But the Mastodons built the lead back to 12 after that.

Denver did make a late-game push, cutting the deficit to three after a basket from Jones made it 52-49 with 1:22 left in regulation.

Purdue Fort Wayne quickly responded with five straight points to put this one out of reach, never letting the Pioneers get closer than seven the rest of the way.

UP NEXT:
Denver (6-23, 2-13 Summit League) looks to clinch its postseason appearance in the Summit League Championship with a showdown against Western Illinois on Saturday. The game is set for 1 pm MT and can be seen on Altitude.

2020 DENVER ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME RECEPTION: Denver announced its 2020 Athletic Hall of Fame class in January. The inductees will be honored on the DU campus May 16. For more information, registration for the reception and donation information, click here. 

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