DENVER – The University of Denver men's basketball program hit free-throws down the stretch to secure a 93-89 home win over Eastern Washington on Wednesday night in the opening game for both teams in the 2025 Big Sky/Summit League Challenge inside Hamilton Gymnasium.

LEADERS:
Jeremiah Burke led the Pioneers with 23 points and seven boards to go with two steals in 34 minutes. Burke was one of five Pioneers to finish in double figures on Wednesday. Julius Rollins had 18 points that included 8-for-9 from the line, and added three rebounds and two assists. Zane Nelson came off the bench to give Denver 17 more, while also pulling down five boards, distributing four assists and adding two steals.

Isaiah Moses led Eastern Washington with 28 points on 10-of-13 shooting.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
First Half:
Denver and Eastern Washington's offenses were efficient in the opening four minutes with both teams scoring on their first four possessions. Denver got the first stop and Julius Rollins pushed in transition to draw a foul and give Denver its first lead at 10-9 at the under-16.

The Eagles defense got stops and their offense stayed hot in an 11-0 run to open up a 20-10 lead in the opening eight minutes. Jeremiah Burke hit Denver's first triple of the night to stop the run. Burke's triple started an 11-2 run for Denver that included five points off the bench from Zane Nelson and the first triple of the night for Carson Johnson to quickly trim the deficit to 22-21 at the under-12 media timeout.

Denver took the lead back through a Rollins' triple and the two teams went into the third media tied at 26 apiece with 7:50 to play.

The Pioneers went on an 11-0 run down the stretch to take its biggest lead at 48-41 with :29 seconds to go after a pair of Johnson free-throws. EWU hit a pair of free-throws to trim the Denver lead to five at the break.

Second Half:
Eastern Washington cut into the Pios halftime lead before back-to-back triples from Burke and Nelson stretched Denver's lead back to its largest at seven heading into the first media of the second half.

The two teams traded buckets heading into the under-12. In the first 8:15 of the second half, the offenses were the story once more with both teams shooting 7-for-10 from the floor through the first two segments of the frame.

Eastern Washington went on a quick 6-0 run out of the timeout to even things back up at 69-69. After a hot start both offenses went cold, but it was the Eagles that took a 71-70 lead into the under-8 timeout.

The Eagles answered a mini 4-0 Denver run with 8-2 run of their own to push the visitors' lead to 82-78 with 3:52 to go. Burke connected on a big layup and drew a foul to give Denver the lead back at 87-86 with 1:18 to go. 

DU's defense was able to connect a couple stops down the stretch and hit free-throws on the other end to make it a 91-86 lead with 10 seconds to play after Burke connected on a pair.

NOTES:

• Denver's 93 points tied for the 11th most in Denver's Division I history against a DI opponent. 
• The 93 points were Denver's most in a regulation win against a DI opponent since February 10, 2024 against St. Thomas (94-77). 
• Denver is now 4-1 all-time in the Big Sky/Summit League Challenge (3-0 at home).
• The Pioneers are 51-38 in the history inside Hamilton Gymnasium.
• Denver finished with double digit triples for the third time this season, connecting on 11-of-23 attempts from beyond the arc. 
• The Pioneers had double digit offensive boards for the fourth time this year. 
• Denver shot 28-for-33 from the free-throw line, its most free-throws made since knocking down 29 against Montana State in a 79-78 win in November, 2024. 
• Julius Rollins finished with 18 points and 3 rebounds.
• Rollins finished in double figures for the third time this season and the 22^nd time in his career.
• Jeremiah Burke finished with 23 points and 7 rebounds.
• Burke finished in double figures for the fifth time this season and the seventh time in his career.
• Burke finished with 20+ points for the fourth time this season and of his career.
• Carson Johnson finished with 14 points and 2 assists.
• Johnson finished in double figures for the sixth-straight game, the seventh time this season and the 27^th time in his career.
• Zane Nelson came off the bench to finish with 17 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.
• Nelson finished in double figures for the third time this season and the 29^th time in his career.
• Logan Kinsey finished with 11 points and 2 assists.
• Kinsey finished in double figures for the fifth time this season and the 56^th time in his career.

UP NEXT:
Denver will wrap-up the 2025 iteration of the Big Sky/Summit League Challenge on Saturday when the Pioneers travel to Idaho State. Opening tip on ESPN+ is set for 4 p.m. MT.

DENVER'S HOME FOR COLLEGE SPORTS

Visit DenverPioneers.com for complete coverage of all 18 of DU's NCAA Division I sports. 
Like Denver Men's Basketball and Denver Pioneers on Facebook 
Follow @du_menshoops and @DU_Pioneers on Twitter 
Follow @du_mhoops and @DenverPioneers on Instagram