DENVER – The University of Denver men's basketball program trailed by as many 20 before using a 31-6 run to take the lead and ultimately wrap-up a regular season sweep of North Dakota State with a 77-71 win on Saturday afternoon inside Hamilton Gymnasium.
The Pioneers (15-13, 6-7) had two players score in double figures, led by Tommy Bruner, who had 41 points. Touko Tainamo added 13 points and six rebounds and DeAndre Craig added eight points, five assists and two steals.
Denver forced 14 North Dakota State turnovers while committing only nine themselves in Saturday's game. The Pioneers turned those takeaways into 17 points on the other end of the floor. Jaxon Brenchley led the way individually with three steals.
Josh Lee led Denver's comeback on the defensive end, finishing with a +25 point rating.
NOTES (Unless noted – record book references are from the modern DI era (1999-00)
With the win, Denver completed its first regular season sweep of NDSU since 2018.
Tommy Bruner finished with 41 points and 3 rebounds.
- Bruner finished in double figures for the 30th-straight game and the 100th time in his collegiate career.
- Bruner finished with 20+ points for the 19th time this season and the 27th time in his career.
- Bruner finished with 30+ points for the ninth time this season and the 10th time in his career.
- First DU player since Scott Williams in 1989-90 to score 40 points in two different games in the same season.
- Bruner is the first player in the country this year to have multiple 40+ point games.
- Bruner scored 30 of his 41 points in the second half.
Touko Tainamo finished with 13 points and 6 rebounds.
- Tainamo finished in double figures for the fourth-straight game, the 23rd time this season and the 52nd time in his career.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Denver struggled out of the gate, falling behind 38-28 heading into halftime. DU shot 0-for-8 from beyond the arc in the half, while NDSU hit five of its 10 attempts from three.
North Dakota State kept widening its lead after intermission, constructing a 52-32 advantage before Denver went on a 10-0 and eventually a 31-6 run, finished off by Bruner's jumper, to shrink the deficit to 59-56 with 6:44 to go in the contest. The Pioneers kept the rally going and took the lead for good on Tainamo's three-pointer with 05:32 left for a 77-71 comeback victory. Following a slow start in the first half, the Pioneers hit 6-for-11 from three-point land in the final 20 minutes.
UP NEXT:
Denver will return to the road next week for its last single-game week of the regular season. The Pioneers will look to complete the season sweep at South Dakota State next Thursday at 6 p.m. MT. The game will be broadcast on Summit League Network and 104.3 The Fan HD3.
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This article was created using technology provided by Data Skrive.
