FARGO, N.D. – The University of Denver men's basketball program took down Summit League leaders and previously unbeaten North Dakota State 78-71 on Thursday night at the Scheels Center.
 
LEADERS:
Miles from his Division II home of Minnesota State Moorhead, sophomore Carson Johnson bagged 20 points for the 13^th time this season to lead the Pioneers to the win. Backcourt mate Zane Nelson filled up the stat sheet all night long with 19 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals. In his first return to Fargo since transferring from NDSU, Jeremiah Burke had 15 points, including a clutch second-half triple to round out Denver's double figure scorers.
 
Markhi Strickland had 19 and 6 to lead the Bison.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
First Half:
The first segment of the game lasted 9:57 as the game went more than six minutes without a whistle. The Pioneers led throughout the first quarter of the game, taking a five-point lead into the first media timeout. Carson Johnson hit a pair of triples in the early going and Jeremiah Burke had seven points in the first 10 minutes in his return to his previous home floor.
 
Denver used a 10-0 run that was capped by a Zane Nelson triple and an old-fashioned three-point play from Josh Lee to extend the Denver lead to 29-18 with 4:38 to go in the first half.
 
North Dakota State responded with a 7-0 run of its own courtesy of back-to-back triples from Tay Smith, but Johnson silenced the crowd with his third triple of the half to put a stop to the run.
 
The Bison continued to cut into the Denver lead, getting it down to six at the intermission.
 
Second Half:
A Logan Kinsey three-point play fueled a 9-2 Denver run in the second half to stretch the lead back out to its biggest of the night at 11 by a count of 49-39 at the under-16 media. Nelson was the first Pioneer into double figures with 11 at the first break of the second half.
 
After committing just six fouls in the entire first half, the Pioneers were called for six fouls in the opening seven minutes of the second half, sending NDSU to the line six times early and 16 times in the half overall. The Bison got the Denver lead down to four at the under-12.
 
On the other side of the timeout, NDSU stretched the run to 9-0 to tie the game back up at 55-55. Johnson hit a step-back jumper to stop the run and a drought of more than four minutes to put the Pioneers back in-front at 57-55 with 8:05 to go.
 
The Bison continued the run when Noah Feddersen finished a three-point play to take their first lead since the opening minutes of the game. NDSU's lead didn't last long when Burke hit a well-timed triple on the next possession to put the Pioneers back in-front.
 
After the teams traded the lead back and forth after an NDSU timeout, Burke finished a big three-point play at the rim, and then Nelson followed up a Burke missed layin to put Denver up by four with just over four minutes to play.
 
NDSU turned Denver over to cut the Pioneers lead to two with under two minutes to play. Johnson made a circus layin with 1:02 to play, but Markhi Strickland got to the cup on the other end to make it 70-68 Denver with 54 seconds to play.
 
Kinsey threw down a dunk on a set-play with his former MSUM teammate Johnson to stretch the lead to four, and after another stop, Nelson hit a pair from the line to make it 74-68 Pioneers with 18 seconds to go.
 
Nelson hit another two free-throws and Johnson hit a pair down the stretch to secure the seven-point win.
 
NOTES:

• Denver earned its third win in 15 attempts in Fargo.
• The win snapped a stretch of three-straight Bison wins in the series.
• DU handed NDSU its first loss since a trip to UTEP on December 22.
• Zane Nelson finished with 19 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists.
• Nelson finished in double figures for the third-straight game, the 16^th time this season and the 42^nd time in his career.
• Nelson finished with 5+ assists for the fourth time this season and the 19^th time in his career.
• Ranked in the top-25 in the country in KenPom offensive rating, Nelson shot 6-for-11 from the field, and knocked down his final six free throws down the stretch.
• Carson Johnson finished with 20 points and 2 steals.
• Johnson finished in double figures for the 13^th-straight game, the 23^rd time this season and the 43^rd time in his two-year career.
• Johnson finished with 20+ points for the 13^th time this season and the 25^th time in his career.
• Johnson's 13 20+ point games ties for the 11^th most in the country this season.
• Johnson, who entered the game in the top-20 in the country in percentage of minutes played, put in 38 minutes in the win.
• Jeremiah Burke finished with 15 points and 2 assists.
• Burke finished in double figures for the second-straight game, the 18^th time this season and the 20^th time in his career.
• Gabe Oldham finished with 4 points and 12 rebounds.
• Oldham finished with double digit rebounds for the ninth time this season and of his career.

 
UP NEXT:
Denver will close out its two-game road swing on Saturday afternoon when the Pioneers head to Grand Forks to take on North Dakota. Opening tip is set for 12 p.m. MT, and 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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