DENVER, CO --The Denver men's basketball team got a 41-point showing from the bench on the way to a 72-61 victory against the Omaha Mavericks at home Saturday.

The Pioneers (15-16, 6-12) had three players score in double figures, led by Tevin Smith, who had 18 points and seven rebounds. Tommy Bruner tacked on 13 points, seven rebounds and four steals and Touko Tainamo helped out with a double-double from the bench with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Denver out-rebounded Omaha 41-28 in Saturday's game, led by Tainamo's 11 boards.

Denver forced 13 Omaha turnovers. The Pioneers turned those takeaways into 17 points on the other end of the floor. Bruner's four steals led the way for Denver.

How It Happened

After playing to a 2-2 tie, Denver went on a 9-0 run with 15:28 left in the first half, culminating in a three from Marko Lukic, to take an 11-2 lead. The Pioneers then added five points to that lead by the end of the period and entered halftime with a 32-18 advantage. Denver did most of its first half damage in the paint, scoring 16 of its 32 points close to the basket.

Denver kept its lead intact before going on a 7-0 run to grow the lead to 63-46 with 4:31 to go in the contest. The Mavericks narrowed the margin somewhat before the game was over, but the Pioneers still cruised the rest of the way for the 72-61 win. Denver took care of business in the paint, recording 20 of its 40 points in the lane.

Game Notes

» The 15 wins are the most by DU since 2017-18.
» The nine home wins are the most by DU since since 2017-18. 
» Touko Tainamo notched a double-double for the Pioneers with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
» The Pioneers held the Mavericks to only 29.8 percent shooting from the field.
» Denver never trailed on the way to a 72-61 victory.
» The Denver bench came alive by adding 41 points to its scoring output.
» Tevin Smith and Touko Tainamo came off the bench to score 18 and 11 points, respectively.
» Denver had a 41-28 edge on the boards in the win.
» The Denver defense forced 13 turnovers.
» Tevin Smith led the Pioneers with a game-high 18 points.
» Denver got a game-high 11 rebounds from Touko Tainamo.

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This article was created using technology provided by Data Skrive.