DENVER – The University of Denver men's basketball team made the winning plays down the stretch in a 71-60 win over Oral Roberts on Wednesday night inside Hamilton Gymnasium.
In the victory, guard Sebastian Akins passed Joe Rosga (2015-16) for the most points in a season by a freshman in the Division I era. Rosga scored 367 in his freshman campaign.
The Pioneers (10-19, 4-10) had three players score in double figures, led by Sebastian Akins, who had 15 points and two steals. DeAndre Craig added 11 points and Nicholas Shogbonyo helped out with 11 points and six rebounds from the bench.
Denver out-rebounded Oral Roberts 37-26 in Wednesday's game, led by Abdulai Fanta Kabba's six boards.
Denver did a great job disrupting Oral Roberts shots in the contest, coming away with five blocks. Kabba's three rejections led the way individually for the Pioneers.
NOTES:
- The Pioneers improved to 12-14 in the all-time series and 12-13 in the Division I era. DU also improved to 8-5 against ORU in the Mile High City.
- Denver completed the season sweep of Oral Roberts with Wednesday night's win. It marks the first season since 2018 that the Pios have swept the Golden Eagles (won all 3 that season).
- DeAndre Craig finished with 11 points, and 5 rebounds.
- Craig finished in double figures for the eighth-straight game, the 20th time this season and the 31st time in his career.
- Sebastian Akins finished with 15 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.
- Akins finished in double figures for the fifth-straight game and the 20th time in his freshman campaign.
- Nicholas Shogbonyo finished with 11 points and 6 rebounds.
- Shogbonyo finished in double figures for the 20th game this season.
- Abdulai Fanta Kabba led the Pioneers with 6 rebounds, 2 steals and 3 blocks.
- Kabba finished with 3+ blocks for the third time in his freshman season.
- The Pioneers held the Golden Eagles to only 38 percent shooting from the field.
- Denver never trailed on the way to a 71-60 victory.
- The Denver bench came alive by adding 29 points to its scoring output.
- Denver had a 37-26 edge on the boards in the win.
This article was created using technology provided by
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
Denver started off strong, putting together a 29-23 lead heading into halftime. Denver did most of its first half damage in the paint, scoring 18 of its 29 points close to the basket.
Denver kept its lead intact before going on a 7-0 run to grow the lead to 62-49 with 3:26 to go in the contest. The Golden Eagles narrowed the margin somewhat before the game was over, but the Pioneers still cruised the rest of the way for the 71-60 win. Denver got a boost from its bench in the period, as non-starters accounted for 20 of its 42 total points.
UP NEXT:
Denver will have the rest of the week off for its final bye of the season before heading to Kansas City next Thursday the final true road game of the campaign. Opening tip is set for 6 p.m. MT, and the game will be broadcast on the Summit League Network and 104.3 The Fan HD3.
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