DENVER, CO --The Denver men's basketball team got a 35-point performance from the bench on the way to a 69-68 victory against the UMKC Kangaroos at home Thursday.

The Pioneers (8-15, 2-6) had four players score in double figures, led by DeAndre Craig, who had 16 points and two steals. Pedro Lopez Sanvicente tacked on 12 points off the bench and Josh Lee chipped in as well with 10 points off the bench.

Denver out-rebounded UMKC 30-28 in Thursday's game, led by Craig's five boards.

Denver forced 13 UMKC turnovers while committing 11 themselves in Thursday's game. The Pioneers turned those takeaways into 19 points on the offensive end of the floor. Ben Bowen led the way individually with two steals.

How It Happened

After falling behind 8-2, Denver went on an 11-0 run with 14:44 left in the first half, culminating in a three from Deandre Craig, to take a 13-8 lead. The Pioneers then lost some of that lead, but still entered halftime with a 33-30 advantage. Denver capitalized on nine UMKC turnovers in the period, turning them into 12 points on the other end of the floor.

Denver started tacking on points in the second half almost immediately, going on a 7-0 run, finished off by Deandre Craig's layup, to grow the lead to 40-30 with 18:09 to go in the contest. The Kangaroos narrowed the margin somewhat before the game was over, but the Pioneers still held on for the 69-68 win. Denver took care of business in the paint, recording 24 of its 36 points in the lane.

Game Notes

» The Denver bench came alive by scoring 35 points to its scoring output.
» Pedro Lopez Sanvicente and Josh Lee came off the bench to score 12 and 10 points, respectively.
» Denver had a 30-28 edge on the boards in the win.
» The Denver defense forced 13 turnovers.
» DeAndre Craig led the Pioneers with a game-high 16 points.
» Denver got a team-high five rebounds from DeAndre Craig.

This article was created using technology provided by Data Skrive.