FARGO, N.D. – The University of Denver men's basketball team came back from as many as nine points down to force OT, but dropped the game in the extra session by a count of 89-84 at North Dakota State on Saturday afternoon inside the Scheels Center.

The Pioneers (9-19, 3-10) had three players score in double figures, led by Sebastian Akins, who had 27 points and four assists. DeAndre Craig tacked on 17 points and two steals and Isaiah Carr helped out with 10 points off the bench.

Led by Isaiah Addo-Ankrah's three offensive rebounds, Denver did a great job crashing the offensive glass, pulling down 12 boards that resulted in eight second chance points.

The Denver defense caused its share of mistakes in Saturday's game, forcing 15 North Dakota State turnovers. Those takeaways turned into 14 points on the offensive end of the floor. Josh Pickett led the way individually for the Pioneers with two steals.

NOTES:

• Freshman Sebastian Akins finished with 27 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.
• Akins' 27 points is a new career high (previous 22 vs. Sacramento State on Dec. 4).
• Akins finished in double figures for the fourth-straight game and the 19^th time in his freshman campaign.
• Akins finished with 20+ points for the fourth time this season.
• Akins passed three more Pioneers on the freshman scoring list on Saturday to move into second with 357 points. Akins is just 10 points behind Joe Rosga (2015-16) for the record.
• DeAndre Craig had 17 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.
• Craig finished in double figures for the seventh-straight game, the 19^th time this season and the 30^th time in his two-year collegiate career.
• In his second game back, Isaiah Carr finished with 10 points and 5 rebounds.
• Carr finished in double figures for the fourth time this season and the ninth time in his career.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
Denver started out the scoring by going on a 9-0 run to take an early lead with 16:13 left in the first half. The Pioneers then surrendered that lead and entered halftime down 38-32.

North Dakota State kept widening its lead after intermission, constructing a 40-32 advantage before Denver went on a 9-0 run, finished off by Akins' layup, to seize a 41-40 lead with 14:37 to go in the contest. The Bison then fought back to even things up at 76-76 and send the game to overtime. Denver got a boost from its bench in the period, as non-starters accounted for 13 of its 44 total points.

North Dakota State controlled the extra session from the tip and won by five in overtime.

This article was created using technology provided by Data Skrive.

UP NEXT:
Denver returns home on Wednesday night to welcome Oral Roberts inside Hamilton Gymnasium. Opening tip is set for 7 p.m. MT, and the game will be broadcast on Altitude TV, the Summit League Network and 104.3 The Fan HD3.

TICKETS:
Get tickets for the 2024-25 season by clicking here.

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