KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The University of Denver men's basketball program used a 13-2 second half run to separate itself from Kansas City and complete the program's first regular season sweep of the Roos by a count of 69-61 on Wednesday night inside the Swinney Center.
 
LEADERS:
Denver's defense earned its first win of the season in a game played in the 60s to lead the way for the Pioneers. DU got it done on the glass as well, led by 19 from Gabe Oldham, one shy of the program's Division I single-game record.
 
Carson Johnson led the Pioneers in scoring once more, canning 22 points that included four triples. Zane Nelson chipped in 17, knocking down seven of his eight attempts from the free-throw line. Logan Kinsey turned in his first double-double in Crimson and Gold, going for 14 and a career-high 13 rebounds on Wednesday night.
 
Kasheem Grady II led Kansas City with 17 points.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
First Half:
Kansas City opened the game on a 4-0 run before Carson Johnson buried a left-wing triple to settle Denver's offense 90 seconds in. The Roos went 4-for-6 from the field in the first segment, but a second Johnson triple cut the deficit to 9-6 at the under-16.
 
KC stretched its first half advantage out to seven before a Logan Kinsey jumper and Johnson's third triple of the opening eight minutes made it a 13-11 game. The teams traded buckets and went into the under-12 with Kansas City maintaining a three-point advantage.
 
Back-to-back buckets from Zane Nelson and a Shaun Wysocki floating jumper evened things back up at 21 apiece with 8:31 to play. Kansas City put its nose back in-front on a Chris Dockery layup to take a two-point advantage into the third mandatory timeout of the opening half.
 
Nelson continued to provide a mid-half spark for the Denver offense, going coast-to-coast on a layin and splitting a pair from the line to cut the deficit to 27-26 with 4:04 to play.  
 
On the other side of the media, Nelson found Jeremiah Burke for a slam to give Denver its first lead, and Johnson quickly stretched it to three with a pull-up jumper for his 13^th point of the day. Kansas City answered with a triple and the half ran out at 32 apiece.
 
Second Half:
A Kansas City three out of the locker room made it a 10-2 run for the Roos and put the home side back up by three. Back-to-back layins from Kinsey and Burke flipped the lead back in Denver's favor at 38-37 with 17:41 remaining. The Pioneers carried that lead into the first media timeout of the second half.
 
Both offenses went cold from the field, going scoreless in a three-minute stretch before a Gabe Oldham putback stretched the Pioneer lead to 40-37 with 14:38 to play. Kansas City evened things up at 42 apiece heading into the under-12.
 
Kansas City continued its run to take its biggest lead of the second half at 50-46 with 8:06 to go. After Denver had missed 12 straight three-pointers, Johnson hit a much-needed triple to cut the deficit to one at the first called timeout of the half. KC got the lead back to three but sent Nelson to the line with 6:13 left heading into the under-8 media.
 
A Johnson step-back and a Burke triple capped a 7-0 run to put Denver ahead 56-52 with under five minutes to go. Denver's four-point lead stood at the final media timeout of the day.
 
Denver's run extended out to 13-2 on the other side of the timeout to stretch the lead to 62-54 with 2:31 to play. Four-straight points from KC's Kasheem Grady II cut the Denver lead in half with 1:56 remaining in regulation.
 
The Pioneers defense took care of the lead late, and the Pioneers shot well from the line to close out a 69-61 win.
 
NOTES:

• Denver's win in Kansas City was just its second in eight attempts and made this season Denver's first regular season sweep of the Roos in program history.
• Denver's defense held a Division I opponent in the 60s for the first time this season.
• Denver earned its first win this season when scoring less than 70 points, and its second when scoring less than 80.
• The Pioneers out-rebounded Kansas City 51-36, the program's first game with 50+ rebounds since Dec. 29, 2022, a triple overtime game against Kansas City.
• Denver pulled down 20 offensive rebounds for the first time since the 2023-24 season opener at UC San Diego.
• Denver committed just 12 fouls on the night, its lowest since committing 10 on December 20 at Northern Colorado.
• Carson Johnson finished with 22 points.
• Johnson finished in double figures for the 11^th-straight game, the 21^st time this season and the 41^st time of his career.
• Johnson finished with 20+ points for the fourth-straight game, the 12^th time this season and the 24^th time in his career.
• Johnson entered the week ranked 27^th in the country in 20+ point games this season.
• Logan Kinsey finished with 14 points and 13 assists.
• Kinsey recorded his first double-double of the season and the third of his career.
• Kinsey finished in double figures for the 13^th time this season and the 64th time in his career.
• Kinsey finished with double digit rebounds for the first time this season and the fifth time of his career.
• Kinsey's 13 rebounds was a new career high for the senior.  
• Gabe Oldham finished with 6 points and 19 rebounds.
• Oldham finished with double digit rebounds for the eighth time this season and of his career.
• Oldham's 19 rebounds tied for the third-most rebounds in a single game in program history, one behind the school record.
• Oldham's rebounding total was Denver's biggest since Touko Tainamo tied the school record and pulled down 20 against Oral Roberts on December 31, 2023.
• Zane Nelson finished with 17 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists.
• Nelson finished in double figures for the 14^th time this season and the 40^th time in his career.

 
UP NEXT:
Denver will return home on Saturday afternoon when the Pioneers welcome Omaha inside Hamilton Gymnasium. Opening tip on the Summit League Network is set for 2 p.m. MT. The game is Denver's home game during the Coaches' vs. Cancer week being observed around the country this week.
 
TICKETS:
Tickets for the 2025-26 season are on sale now, and can be purchased here.
 
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