ST. PAUL – The University of Denver men's basketball program dropped a back-and-forth shootout by a count of 92-88 at St. Thomas on Sunday afternoon inside the Lee & Penny Anderson Arena.
 
LEADERS:
Nick Janowski had a career-high 31 to go with seven rebounds to lead the Tommies, one of four St. Thomas players to finish in double figures. Denver countered with five in double figures led by 24 from Zane Nelson, who was a rebound shy of a double-double. Jeremiah Burke chipped in 19 on 8-of-13 from the floor.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
First Half:
St. Thomas opened up with a quick five points on its first two possessions to grab the early momentum, but Zane Nelson went 4-for-5 from the free-throw line on the next two possessions to stem the early advantage. Back-to-back buckets from Logan Kinsey and Gabe Oldham gave the Pioneers a 10-8 lead at the first timeout.
 
Both offenses went cold before a second triple of the day for Ben Oosterbaan tied things up at 11-11 with just over 12 minutes to go. A fourth St. Thomas triple of the opening half, this time from Austin Hero gave St. Thomas the lead back at 14-11 heading into the under-12.
 
UST made it a 10-0 run to stretch its lead to seven with just over 10 minutes to play as Denver continued to struggle from the floor.
 
Nelson hit a triple, Carson Johnson hit a step-back jumper and Oldham got his second layup to send Denver on a quick 7-0 run to bring Denver back to within one at 30-29 with 4:59 to go. The Tommies responded with four quick points to put an end to the Denver run and take a 34-29 lead into the under-4 media timeout.
 
Both offenses picked up in the closing minutes of the half, and a Oosterbaan putback just before the horn gave St. Thomas a 43-37 lead at the intermission. St. Thomas outscored the Pioneers by 12 from beyond the arc, while the Pioneers had an eight-point advantage at the free-throw line.
 
Second Half:
The teams exchanged two three pointers apiece in the first 96 seconds of the half. Denver cut the margin down to five at the first called media timeout of the first half with 16:35 to play.
 
Nelson's second triple of the half was quickly answered by Oostbaan's fourth of the game, but Nelson got to the rack and was fouled on the next possession to pull Denver to within three with a pending trip to the line heading into the official under-16 with 15:32 remaining. Nelson hit his free-throw out of the timeout, and Kinsey hit a pair on the next possession to tie things up at 55 apiece with 14:53 on the clock.
 
Nick Janowski provided the answer for the Tommies this time, hitting a triple, but Burke responded with his second three to even things up at 58-58. The offensive-minded game continued to flow for both teams, with the Tommies taking a 64-62 lead into the under-12 media.
 
Nelson hit three free-throws for the second time in the game to give Denver the lead back at 65-64 on the first play out of the media timeout. Several possessions later, Julius Rollins hit his first three of the afternoon to give Denver its largest lead at four with 8:43 to go.
 
Austin Herro hit his third three in as many attempts to give St. Thomas the lead back out of the timeout. Herro's three kick-started a 12-2 St. Thomas run that pushed the home team's lead out to six before a Burke layin stemmed the run and made it a four-point game with 5:30 to go. Rollins hit four free-throws to trim the deficit to two with the ball at the final media timeout of the game.
 
A costly Denver turnover led to a St. Thomas run out to allow the Tommies to extend their run and stretch the lead to six with 1:39 to play. A split from the line from Rollins and a running jumper from Burke pulled Denver back to within three with 52 seconds to go.
 
St. Thomas was able to run time off the clock after pulling down a 16^th offensive rebound on the next possession, splitting the free-throws to make it a two-possession game with 21 seconds to go.
 
NOTES:

• St. Thomas was picked as the league's preseason favorites in October.
• The Tommies' 26-game home winning streak is the longest in the country.
• Denver had five players finish in double figures for the second time in its last three games.
• Zane Nelson finished with 24 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists.  
• Nelson finished in double figures fourth-straight game, the ninth time this season and the 35^th time in his NCAA career.
• Nelson had 20+ points for the third time this season and the 11^th time in his career.
• Nelson's 13 free-throws made is a career-high for the graduate student.
• Jeremiah Burke finished with 19 points and 4 rebounds.
• Burke finished in double figures for the sixth-straight game, the 13^th time this season and the 15^th time in his career.
• Gabe Oldham finished with 10 points and 7 rebounds.
• Oldham finished in double figures for the third time this season and of his NCAA career.
• Carson Johnson finished with 11 points.
• Johnson finished in double figures for the fifth-straight game, the 15^th time this season and the 35^th time in his career.
• Julius Rollins finished with 12 points, 2 steals and 2 blocks.
• Rollins finished in double figures for the seventh time this season and the 26^th time in his NCAA career.

 
UP NEXT:
Denver will return home before resuming a three-game road swing at South Dakota State on Thursday. Opening tip is set for 6 p.m. MT, and the game will be streamed live 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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