DENVER – The University of Denver men's basketball program got itself back into the win column on Wednesday night with a 98-87 win over Oral Roberts inside Hamilton Gymnasium.
 
Denver's 98 points was the third-most against a DI opponent in a regulation game since the Pioneers rejoined Division I in 1998-99.
 
LEADERS:
Sophomore Carson Johnson shot 9-of-16 from the field, including 4-for-7 from beyond the arc, and connected on all 11 of his free-throw attempts to finish with 33 points to go with four rebounds and three assists.
 
Jeremiah Burke had 20 points and seven rebounds, and Zane Nelson also finished with 20 points and seven rebounds to go with a pair of helpers.
 
Connor Dow led Oral Roberts with 23, one of four Golden Eagles in double figures.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
First Half:
Carson Johnson opened the half on fire, knocking down his first four shots, including three from beyond the arc to give the Pioneers an early 15-11 lead at the first media timeout.
 
Johnson added to that total with another bucket, paired with a layin from Julius Rollins to keep Denver's lead at four, but Oral Roberts hit five of six field goals to go on a run of its own to level the score at 22-22 at the under-12 media timeout.
 
The Golden Eagles continued on its run of hot shooting to take its biggest lead of the day at 27-24 with 8:32 to go. Johnson answered with a jumper to trim the margin to one at the third media of the night.
 
Zane Nelson got himself to the line four times to put Denver's nose back in-front at 32-30 with five minutes to go in the opening half. ORU responded with a 5-0 run to regain the lead at the under-4.
 
Jeremiah Burke connected on his first three of the night, Nelson connected on back-to-back triples and then Rollins converted the four-point play to push Denver's lead to eight with under a minute to play.
 
Second Half:
Oral Roberts opened the half on a 6-1 run to quickly cut into the Pioneers halftime advantage. Burke ended the run with his first jumper of the half to become the third Pioneer into double figures on the night. Johnson connected on his first three of the half and fourth of the night, but ORU had the lead trimmed down to 64-57 at the first media break of the final stanza.
 
Logan Kinsey answered a Golden Eagles triple, and Shaun Wysocki got to the cup to push the lead back to nine. Back-to-back Connor Dow triples for ORU provided the visitors with a spark to make it a 71-68 game with 12:09 to go in regulation. Rollins got a greasy loose ball on the floor and put it back to stop the run and send Denver into the under-12 with a 73-68 advantage.
 
Nelson's third triple of the night capped a 9-1 run in a 3:07 stretch to restore Denver's lead at the halftime margin of 11 with 9:02 to play, forcing an Oral Roberts timeout. On the other side of the timeout, Nelson made the extra pass in transition to a wide-open Burke who gave Denver its biggest lead of the night at 14 with 8:35 remaining, a lead it took into the under-8 media timeout.
 
Denver managed the game and connected on seven of its nine free-throws in the second half to close out the 11-point win.
 
NOTES:
Denver finished with 98 points, its third most against a DI opponent in a regulation game since the Pioneers rejoined the Division I status in 1998-99.
Denver had three players finish with 20+ points in a regulation game for the first time since December 20, 2021 against Western Illinois (Hunt, Tainam, Johnson).
The Pioneers are the first Summit League team to have three players finish with 20+ in a game since Feb. 15, 2025 when North Dakota did it (stathead).
Carson Johnson finished with 33 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.
Johnson finished in double figures for the eight-straight game, the 18^th time this season and the 38^th time of his career.
Johnson finished with 20+ points for the ninth time this season and the 21^st time in his career.
Johnson finished with 30+ points for the first time this season and the second time of his career (42 vs. St. Cloud State – Feb. 1, 2025).
Johnson posted 24 points in the first half on 7-of-9 shooting, and 7-for-7 from the line.
Johnson's 30-point game was Denver's second against a DI opponent this season, and the first since Zane Nelson's 32 at Northern Colorado on December 20.
Johnson's 33-point game tied for the eighth-most in a game against a DI opponent in the Pioneers DI history.
Johnson's 33 points were the most by a player in the Summit League this season.
Zane Nelson finished with 20 points and 7 rebounds.
Nelson finished in double figures for the seventh-straight game, the 12^th time this season and the 38^th time in his career.
Nelson finished with 20+ points for the fourth time this season and the 12^th time in his career.
Jeremiah Burke finished with 20 points and 7 rebounds.
Burke finished in double figures for the 15^th time this season and the 17^th time in his career.
Burke finished with 20+ points for the eighth time this season and the eighth time in his career.
Julius Rollins finished with 14 points and 3 assists.
Rollins finished in double figures for the eighth time this season and the 27^th time in his career.
 
UP NEXT:
Denver will have its first bye of the league calendar this weekend before resuming its league calendar on Thursday, January 22 against league-leaders North Dakota State. Opening tip on Altitude 2 and the Summit League Network is set for 7 p.m. MT.
 
TICKETS:
Tickets for the 2025-26 season are on sale now, and can be purchased here.
 
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