DENVER – The University of Denver men's basketball program won a third-straight Summit League game for the first time in eight years, leading the final 38 minutes of the game in a 79-61 win over South Dakota State on Thursday night inside Hamilton Gymnasium.
 
LEADERS:
Sophomore guard Carson Johnson turned in another 20+ point performance, scoring 23 to go with five assists to lead the way for the Pioneers. Jeremiah Burke recorded his second career double-double with 18 points and 12 boards in 35 minutes. Zane Nelson rounded out Denver's double figure scorers with 13 and five rebounds.
 
Damon Wilkinson led South Dakota State with 18.
 
Denver's defense turned in a solid 40 minutes, holding South Dakota State to 38.5% from the field, and holding an opponent to less than 80 for the fourth time in five games.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
First Half:
After Denver earned a defensive stop on the game's opening possession, the offenses converted on the next six possessions to make it a 6-6 game two minutes into the contest. The defenses then settled in and the game went into the first media knotted up at eight apiece.
 
Out of the timeout, Denver went on an 8-0 run, courtesy of scoring plays from Jeremiah Burke and Zane Nelson. Burke hit Nelson in the corner for the game's first triple to start the run, then Nelson hit a pair from the line before returning the favor and finding Burke for another three to make it a 16-8 with 13:52 to go. Logan Kinsey and Josh Lee made it four triples in the second segment to stretch Denver's run to 16-2 and advantage to 22-10 and force a South Dakota State timeout to send the game to the under-12.
 
Denver's defense continued to get stops in the third segment, as the Pioneers outscored SDSU 5-2. Shaun Wysocki became the fifth different Pioneer to cash in from beyond the arc and Denver took a 27-12 lead into the under-8.
 
South Dakota State's first sustained run of the night was an 8-2 spurt out of the under-8 to cut Denver's advantage to nine with under five minutes to play before Bruke hit his second triple to push the lead back to 12.
 
The Jacks put another mini 5-0 run together to continue to chip away at Denver's lead and force a Pioneer timeout at 32-25 with 1:23 remaining in the opening 20. Carson Johnson ended the half with a pair at the line and a jumper with four seconds left on the clock to send Denver back into the locker room with a 36-25 lead.
 
Second Half:
Johnson got the Pioneers rolling to start the second half with five-straight points to push Denver's lead out to 17 with 16:37 remaining in regulation. Kalen Garry put an end to the mini Denver run with a bucket and the game went into the first media of the half with the score at 44-29.
 
Nelson finished a circus layin at the cup to make it a 17-point game, matching Denver's biggest of the night. After a mini SDSU run, Johnson connected on his second three and Wysocki went around the Jacks' defense and got to the cup to give Denver its biggest lead at 18 with 12:48 to go.
 
After South Dakota State made another attempt to get back into it, Wysocki provided another big play off the Denver bench to reignite the Denver offense that later led to triples from Johnson and Burke to restore the 18-point lead with 8:21 to go, a lead Denver look into the under-8.
 
Logan Kinsey's foul that sent the game to the under-8 was upgraded to a flagrant 1 for a hook and hold, but after the Jacks' four-point possession Kinsey threw down his first dunk of the night to limit the damage. Kinsey continued to provide Denver offense, getting another four points at the rack to send the game to the under-4 with Denver up 15.
 
Another Burke triple made it a 19-point game and Johnson scored Denver's final four points in the 18-point win.
 
NOTES:
Thursday night's win marks the program's first three-game winning streak in league play since wins over Omaha, Oral Roberts and at Western Illinois from February 14-24, 2018.
With the win, Denver improved to 6-6 in league play, moving into a tie with South Dakota and Omaha for fourth in the Summit League standings.
Graduate student guard Julius Rollins was a scratch on Thursday due to illness.
Denver allowed a season-low 25 points in the first half, its third game in the last four allowing 27 or less in the opening frame.
Denver hit double digit three-pointers for the 11^th time this season.
The Pioneers had five players finish with 9+ points on Thursday.
Carson Johnson finished with 23 points and 5 assists.
Johnson finished in double figures for the 15^th-straight game, the 25^th time this season and the 45^th time of his career.
Johnson finished with 20+ for the third-straight game, the 15^th time this season and the 27^th time in his career.
Johnson is tied for seventh in the country in 20+ point games this season.
Johnson had 5+ assists for the second-straight game, the fifth time this season and the seventh time in his career.
Johnson now has 529 points on the year, passing Jase Townsend to move up to fifth in Denver's single season history.
Johnson has made 73 three-pointers this season, moving into 10^th in Denver's single season history.
Johnson has made 110 free-throws this season, passing Nate Rohnert for 10^th in Denver's single-season history.
Jeremiah Burke finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds.
Burke recorded his second double-double of the season and of his career.
Burke finished in double figures for the fourth-straight game, the 20^th time this season and the 22^nd time in his career.
Burke finished with double digit rebounds for the second time this season and the third time in his career.
Zane Nelson finished with 13 points and 5 rebounds.
Nelson finished in double figures for the fifth-straight game, the 18^th time this season and the 44^th time in his career.
Gabe Oldham finished with 2 points and 10 rebounds.
Oldham finished with double digit rebounds for the 10^th time this season.
Gabe Oldham has 209 rebounds this season, moving into seventh in Denver's single-season history.
 
UP NEXT:
Denver will return to the road on Sunday for an 11 a.m. MT nationally televised tip at Omaha. The game will be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network.
 
TICKETS:
Tickets for the 2025-26 season are on sale now, and can be purchased here.
 
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