DENVER – The University of Denver men's basketball program overcame a nine-point deficit in the final quarter of the game, getting a career-high 26 points and a game-winning triple from Julius Rollins with 8.7 seconds to go to lead the Pioneers past Summit League preseason favorites St. Thomas on Saturday evening inside Hamilton Gymnasium by a count of 82-80.
 
The Senior Night game was played in-front of 1,594, the fourth-largest crowd in the history of Hamilton Gymnasium.
 
LEADERS:
The senior day magic off the bench that led to Rollins 26-point night came on 9-of-12 shooting, including 5-of-8 from beyond the arc. Rollins key game in his final game in Hamilton Gymnasium was his first in double figures in his last seven appearances. Sophomore Carson Johnson poured in 25 on 8-of-13 from the field in 37 minutes.
 
St. Thomas had six players finish in double figures, led by 19 from Nick Janowski.
 
Denver once again took care of the basketball, committing just eight turnovers and going 17-for-20 from the line.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
First Half:
Gabe Oldham scored Denver's first five points, but the St. Thomas offense responded with a 13-10 lead at the first timeout of the afternoon. Neither team scored in the second segment and the Tommies took a three-point lead into the under-12 as well. The Pioneers offense opened the game shooting 4-for-15 from the field.
 
Shaun Wysocki broke Denver's scoring drought with two from the line, Carson Johnson hit a floater on the next possession and Julius Rollins hit a triple on the possession after that to put Denver back in-front at 17-15 with 10:24 to play before halftime.
 
Rollins continued to give Denver a boost off the bench, getting another five points to help Denver stretch its lead to its biggest of the evening at eight with 5:31 to go in the first. Rollins added another bucket on the next possession and was the first into double figures with under five to go. The Denver grad student continued to assert himself on the offensive end, getting to the line to send the game to the under-4 with Denver up 31-24.
 
St. Thomas went on an 8-0 run out of the timeout as the Denver offense went scoreless for a two minute stretch after the media. The Tommies continued to close the half strong, ending the half on a 15-4 run to take a two-point lead into the intermission.
 
Second Half:
UST continued its run out of the locker room, extending the run to 20-4 and the lead to seven in the opening minute of the second half. Johnson hit a running floater and nailed his first three of the evening to put Denver on a mini 5-0 run and trim the deficit to two. After a Nick Janowski layin, Burke dailed a response up from long range to make it 46-45 with 17:06 to go. UST pushed its lead back to three at the under-16.
 
St. Thomas knocked down 7-of-11 to start the half and extended its advantage to nine before a pair of Johnson free-throws took the game to the under-12 at 56-49.
 
A three-point play from Rollins trimmed the St. Thomas lead to five, but a St. Thomas bucket and a runout off a missed Denver layin quickly restored the visitors' advantage to nine with 10:54 to go. Johnson hit his second triple and Denver called a timeout right after it at 61-55 with 10:36 to play in regulation.
 
A Wysocki layin converted into a three-point play trimmed the deficit to four with 8:41 to go. Following a UST layup, Johnson connected on his third from beyond the arc, and Denver went into the under-8 down just three.
 
Rollins hit his third three on the other side to tie things up, but St. Thomas got back-to-back buckets in response to quickly take the lead back at 59-55 to with 5:10 remaining. Senior Day Rollins hit another three to get to his career-high of 23 points with under five minutes to play.
 
Janowski and Kinsey traded points on the next couple of possessions, and the game went into the final media timeout all square at 73. Wysocki split two from the line out of the timeout to give Denver its first lead since late in the first half. Hayden Tibbits connected on a triple for the Tommies as the shot clock was expiring, and the Tommies used a timeout with 1:53 to go and a two-point lead.
 
Both teams continued to trade buckets and free-throws to setup the Rollins game-winning triple. With Denver trailing 80-78, Rollins pulled down a rebound off a Ben Oosterbaan missed free-throw. Johnson brought the ball up the court and drew a double before finding Rollins at the top of the key. Defended well, Rollins rose up and connected on his fifth three of the game with under nine seconds to go.
 
St. Thomas trip down the floor, Josh Lee stepped in-front of his man to cutoff a straight-line drive and drew a charge to seal the game for the Pioneers.
 
NOTES:
With the win, the Pioneers secured their first .500 or better season in Summit League play since 2017-18 when Denver went 8-6. DU will have a chance to get to nine league wins on Thursday at Oral Roberts.
Denver's five league wins at home ties its most since joining the Summit League in 2013-14.
The Pioneers are now 59-42 in Hamilton.
Saturday's attendance was 1,594, the second largest crowd this season and the fourth-largest in the venue for a basketball game.
Julius Rollins finished with 26 points and 6 rebounds.
Rollins finished in double figures for the 10^th time this season and the 29^th time in his career.
Rollins finished with 20+ points for the first time this season and the second time in his career.
Rollins point total was a career-high.
Carson Johnson finished with 25 points and 3 assists.
Johnson finished in double figures for the 18^th-straight game, the 28^th time this season and the 48^th time in his career.
Johnson finished with 20+ points for the second-straight game, the 17^th time this season and the 29^th time in his career.
 
UP NEXT:
Denver will close out the 2025-26 regular season on Thursday night when the Pioneers head to Oral Roberts. Opening tipoff on the Summit League Network is set for 6 p.m. MT.
 
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