VERMILLION, S.D.  – The University of Denver men's basketball program fell to South Dakota  82-72 on Saturday afternoon inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.
 
LEADERS:
Gabe Oldham finished with a double-double on 24 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Pioneers. Zane Nelson added 19.
 
On the other side, Cameron Fens led South Dakota with 23, and Isaac Bruns chipped in 20.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
First Half:
Denver raced out to a 7-2 lead after Carson Johnson connected on a triple and then fed to the ball inside to Gabe Oldham for another bucket. Isaac Burns had five-straight South Dakota points sandwiched around an Oldham reverse layup and Denver took a 9-7 advantage into the first media.
 
Zane Nelson connected on a three out of the timeout, but South Dakota responded with seven-straight to take the lead at 16-14 with just over 12 minutes to play.
 
Logan Kinsey made a backdoor cut and Oldham hit him to tie things back up out of the under-12, but five-straight points from the Coyotes gave the home team is biggest lead of the half with just under eight minutes to go in the first half.
 
Oldham went coast to coast with Johnson to finish a fast break layup and get into double figures and pull the Pioneers within three. A couple of minutes later Jeremiah Burke connected on his first triple of the day to send Denver into the timeout only down a pair.
 
Nelson hit a contested jumper out of the timeout to even things up at 33 with under two minutes to play. The graduate student's shot kick-started a 6-0 run that also included a midrange jumper from Johnson and a put-back layin from Oldham to push Denver's lead back out to four and force a South Dakota timeout with 25 seconds to play. Isaac Burns hit a pair of free-throws and then South Dakota got a steal and a score at the buzzer to even things up at 37 at the break.
 
Denver finished the opening half with a 13-2 lead in points off turnovers and 8-1 in second chance points.
 
Second Half:
A Nelson triple got Denver's lead back out to five, but South Dakota responded with a 9-0 spurt that was finally put to rest by a Nelson jumper to put the Coyotes up 48-46 at the under-16.
 
Shaun Wysocki pulled Denver within one on a three-point play, but the Coyotes had an answer once again, this time with a 7-0 run to take its biggest lead of the day at 61-53 and forcing a Denver timeout.
 
Denver answered USD's 7-0 run with a 7-0 run of its own, capped off by a Nelson banked in triple to make it a one-point game once more with 7:06 to play. Back-to-back South Dakota threes were sandwiched around a Carson Johnson layin to extend the USD lead to 67-62 with under six to play.
 
South Dakota's run extended to 13-5 to stretch the margin to its biggest of the day at 74-65 with 3:04 to play. Oldham got a bucket and split a pair from the line to get his point total up to 24 and cut the deficit down to four with 1:32 to play in regulation.
 
The Coyotes hit their free-throws down the stretch to wrap-up the home win.
 
NOTES:

• Gabe Oldham finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds.
• Oldham's point total is a new career high (NCAA).
• Oldham finished with his third double-double of the season and of his career.
• Oldham finished in double figures for the fourth time this season and of his NCAA career.
• Oldham finished with double digit rebounds for the sixth time this season and of his career.
• Oldham shot a perfect 9-for-9 from the floor and 6-for-6 from the free-throw line
• Zane Nelson finished with 19 points.
• Nelson finished in double figures for the sixth-straight game, the 11^th time this season and the 37^th time of his career.
• Carson Johnson finished with 11 points and 6 assists.
• Johnson finished in double figures for the seventh-straight game, the 17^th time this season and the 37^th time in his career.
• Johnson with 5+ assists for the second time this season and the fourth time of his career.

 
UP NEXT:
Denver will return to Hamilton Gymnasium on Wednesday night when the Pioneers welcome Oral Roberts for a Summit League clash in the Mile High City. Opening tip is set for 7 p.m. MT, and the game will be broadcast on Altitude 2 and the Summit League Network.
 
TICKETS:
Tickets for the 2025-26 season are on sale now, and can be purchased here.
 
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