GRAND FORKS, N.D. - The University of Denver men's basketball team got a career night from its junior KJ Hunt on Thursday, pouring in a career-high 32 points while leading a 19-point second-half comeback as they took down North Dakota, 81-79 in overtime. The win gave Denver its first set of back-to-back road wins since mid-December of 2016.

Inside the Box Score:
- Hunt had his best game of his collegiate career, finishing with a career-high 32 points to go with six rebounds and four assists. The Little Rock, Ark. native was a deadly 13-for-21 from the field and a perfect 5-for-5 from the line.
- Jordan Johnson was the other Pioneer in double figures, finishing with 12 points.

Significant Stats:
- Denver picked up its first set of back-to-back road wins since Dec. 10th (at Air Force) and 13th (at South Alabama) back in 2016.
- The Pioneers' five league victories are the most since the 2017-18 season.
- DU closed with a 30-11 run over the final 11:34 to force overtime.
- Hunt's 32 points are the most by a Pioneer player this season.
- Denver gets the season sweep over the Fighting Hawks, its first against a Summit League opponent since 2017-18 season.
- The Crimson and Gold's nine wins are the most by the team since the 2017-18 season.
- Tevin Smith missed his first game of the year after entering the health and safety COVID-19 protocols earlier.

Turning Point:
A 30-11 run by DU in the final 11:34 in regulation to force overtime.

As it Happened:
 
First Half:
North Dakota opened to a 10-7 lead to start the night. Denver countered with four straight points to take its first lead at 11-10 by the 11:54 mark in the opening half. The Fighting Hawks built a six-point edge with seven minutes remaining at 25-19 with some hot shooting from beyond the arc. UND got its first double-digit advantage of the game at 30-19 after a 3 from Bentiu Panoam with 5:34 left in the half. The Crimson and Gold fought its way back, cutting the UND lead to two after a bucket from Michael Henn made it 30-28, capping a 9-0 run. But North Dakota closed with a late 3 from Paul Bruns to take a 36-30 advantage through 20 minutes of action.

Second Half:
The Fighting Hawks got up to 13 on the scoreboard right out the gate to start the second half at 47-34. The lead grew to 19, North Dakota's largest, at 59-40 by the under-12 media timeout. Denver, though, made its comeback start to happen thanks to a 12-4 run to close the gap to 11 after a bucket from Johnson made it 63-52. A 3 from Coban Porter made it a two-possession contest at 69-63 with just under three minutes to go. The Pioneers continued to pick up stops and get timely baskets, tying it at 70-70 on a driving layup from Hunt with 14 seconds left, giving him 30 on the evening. North Dakota missed a last-second heave, leading to overtime.
 
Overtime
Denver took command fast in the extra period, scoring the first five points. The Fighting Hawks countered with the next five to tie it up at 75-75 with 2:11 remaining. Hunt kept his career night going, making two critical free throws to make it a four-point contest with 27 seconds left. UND immediately answered with a layup to make it 79-77 in favor the Pioneers. But Johnson made two free throws with 13 seconds left to go up four. The Fighting Hawks had a chance at the very end, narrowly missing a 3-point shot from Paul Bruns at the buzzer, giving DU the victory and season sweep.

Up Next:
Denver (9-16, 5-7 SL) wraps up the road trip with a game against North Dakota State on Feb. 5. Tip off is set for 12 p.m. MT.
 
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