DENVER – The University of Denver men's basketball program and North Dakota went back-and-forth for 40 minutes with neither team leading by more than seven until the final minute of UND's 93-86 win on Saturday afternoon inside Hamilton Gymnasium.
 
LEADERS:
Sophomore Carson Johnson led the Pioneers with 32, connecting on five from beyond the arc. Greyson Uelmen had 30 himself to lead the Fighting Hawks.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
First Half:
North Dakota got off the blocks first, hitting five of its first nine from the field to race out to a 13-7 lead with 14:39 to go. Carson Johnson hit a corner three and went to the line on the other side of the first media timeout of the game for a chance to complete the four-point play. Zane Nelson had five in the first segment.
 
On the other side of the media, Johnson completed the four-point play and then drained another triple on the next possession to give Denver its first lead at 14-13, but North Dakota responded with a 5-0 run to boost its lead back to four.
 
With Nelson exiting early in the half with two fouls, Julius Rollins provided a spark off the bench, scoring seven points in three minutes on the floor to put Denver back in-front 23-22 with under 10 minutes to play. After a lengthy review saw a foul switched from a North Dakota player to Gabe Oldham, Oldham exited with his second and the Fightin Hawks retook a two-point lead.
 
Rollins continued to provide a spark off the bench, slamming home his ninth point of the game before Jeremiah Burke buried a triple to give Denver its biggest lead of the opening half at three with 5:57 to go. Shaun Wysocki was the next bench player to provide a spark to the Pioneers, finishing a dunk off a Burke assist and then knocking down a right-wing triple to give Denver a three-point advantage with 4:26 to go, a lead the Pioneers took with them to the under-4 media.
 
Johnson hit his third three of the night to make it a six-point Denver advantage, but North Dakota had the answer again, going on an 8-0 run to retake the lead at 45-43 with 2:15 to go. Wysocki hit a triple as the shot clock expired to send Denver into the locker room with a one-point lead.
 
Denver's bench outscored North Dakota's 21-14 in the first half, led by nine from Rollins and eight from Wysocki. The Pioneers shot 8-for-13 from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes, while UND knocked down 6-of-11 from three.
 
Second Half:
The two teams split the first 10 points five aside before Oldham recovered an offensive rebound in the paint and called a timeout to take the game to its first media of the second half. North Dakota came out of the timeout with the run however, going on a quick 8-0 spurt to retake a 58-51 lead with 16:22 to play. Oldham dunked a Rollins pass on an underneath out of bounds play to cut the deficit to five at the under-16.
 
Johnson connected on his fifth triple to complete a 6-0 Denver and put Denver back in-front 62-60. UND's head coach was called for a tech in the aftermath, but Johnson missed both free-throws. Nelson connected on a jumper from the free-throw line to answer a pair of North Dakota free-throws and send Denver's into the under-12 up a pair.
 
Denver maintained the two-point lead heading into the under-8 after Rollins and UND's Eli King traded triples. The teams continued to trade baskets when Johnson hit a fadeaway jumper from the free-throw line before Greyson Uelmen hit a running hook shot to make it 74-73 with 6:03 to play and a North Dakota timeout.
 
North Dakota took the lead back at 77-76 with 4:02 to play, but Wysocki beat everyone back down the floor, absorbed the contact and finished the layin to put Denver up one at the under-4.
 
The Fighting Hawks defense stepped up first to get a couple consecutive stops and take an 81-78 lead with under three minutes to play. North Dakota extended that lead to a five-point game with 26.7 to play. UND hit its free-throws down the stretch to finish off the win.
 
NOTES:
Carson Johnson finished with 32 points and 3 assists.
Johnson finished in double figures for the 10^th-straight game, the 20^th time this season and the 40^th time in his career.
Johnson finished with 20+ for the third-straight game, the 11^th time this season and the 23^rd time in his career.
Johnson finished with 30+ for the second time this season and the third time in his career.
Shaun Wysocki finished with 12 points and 5 rebounds.
Wysocki finished in double figures for the sixth time this season and the 18^th time in his career.
Wysocki finished in double figures for the first time since New Year's Eve against Kansas City.
Julius Rollins finished with 13 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.
Rollins finished in double figures for the ninth time this season and the 28^th time in his career.
Rollins finished in double figures for the second time in the last three games.  
 
UP NEXT:
Denver will hit the road on Wednesday night when the Pioneers travel to Kansas City to begin the second half of the Summit League double round robin. Opening tip is set for 6 p.m. MT on the Summit League Network.
 
TICKETS:
Tickets for the 2025-26 season are on sale now, and can be purchased here.
 
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