OMAHA – The University of Denver men's basketball program fell behind early, and its second-half comeback fell short by a count of 83-76 at Omaha on Sunday afternoon inside Baxter Arena.
 
LEADERS:
Lance Waddles led five Mavericks in double figures with 21, shooting 6-for-6 from beyond the arc.
 
Logan Kinsey had a game-high 22 to lead the Pioneers, while also pulling down six rebounds. Jeremiah Burke added 18 and Carson Johnson chipped in 17 in the loss. Johnson reached 1000 career points in just 51 career games on Sunday.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
First Half:
Omaha knocked down six of its first eight from the field, including all three of its shots from beyond the arc in the first segment to race out to a 16-8 lead at the under-16.
 
Denver settled into the game, playing the second segment even with the host Mavericks at eight points apiece. Jeremiah Burke and Zane Nelson had five points each to lead the Pioneers in the early going.
 
Carson Johnson got going after a quiet start, hitting three of his next four shots for six points to help bring Denver back to within five at the under-8 media.
 
Denver was able to cut the deficit to four before a 6-0 run stretched the Mavericks lead back to 10 at the final tv break of the first half.
 
Omaha continued to knock down threes, draining seven of its 12 first half triples to take its lead to 11 at the intermission.
 
Second Half:
Logan Kinsey anchored an 8-0 run that cut Omaha's lead from its biggest at 14 to back down to six with 17:17 to play. Omaha struck from beyond the arc for the eighth time in response, and the Mavericks carried a 57-49 lead into the under-16.
 
Kinsey broke a 100 second scoreless drought in the game with a jumper to pull Denver within six. After a Grant Stubblefield layin pushed it back to eight, Burke knocked down his fourth triple of the day to get the Pioneers within five. Omaha responded on the other end with its own triple and took a 64-56 lead into the under-12.
 
Denver continued to work to cut into the deficit, getting to within seven at the under-8. Burke paced Denver's offense, shooting seven for his first 11 from the floor to bring his point total up to 18 heading into the penultimate media timeout.
 
A 6-0 Denver run on three-straight buckets brought Denver all the way back within two at 70-67 with five minutes remaining. Omaha responded with a 7-0 run of its own on the next three possessions to stretch the Mavericks lead right back to 10, forcing a Denver timeout which sent the game to its final media break.
 
Denver was unable to make a run at the Mavericks lead, and the home team held on for the seven-point win.
 
NOTES:

• Logan Kinsey finished with 22 points and 6 rebounds.
• Kinsey finished in double figures for the 16^th time this season and the 67^th game of his career.  
• Kinsey finished with 20+ points for the fifth time this season and the 17^th time of his career.
• Jeremiah Burke finished with 18 points and 5 rebounds.
• Burke finished in double figures for the fifth-straight game, the 21^st time this season and the 23^rd time in his career.
• Carson Johnson finished with 17 points and 4 assists.
• Johnson finished in double figures for the 16^th-straight game, the 26^th time this season and the 46^th time of his career.
• Combining his time at Minnesota State Moorhead and Denver, Johnson reached 1000 career points in his 51^st career game on Sunday.
• Johnson has 546 points this season, sitting 15 points behind Yemi Nicholson (2004-05) for fourth in Denver's DI single-season history.
• Johnson knocked down his 74^th triple this season, moving him into a tie with Joe Rosga (2016-17) for ninth in Denver's DI history.

 
UP NEXT:
Denver will return to its home floor on Thursday night when the Pioneers welcome South Dakota to Hamilton Gymnasium. Opening tip is set for 7 p.m. MT, and the game will be broadcast on Altitude 2, the Summit League Network and 104.3 the Fan HD3.
 
TICKETS:
Tickets for the 2025-26 season are on sale now, and can be purchased here.
 
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