Denver men’s basketball (7-1) faced the Houston Christian Huskies Thursday night at Sharp Gymnasium in Houston, Texas. Denver won the bucket-fest by shooting a sizzling 67% for the game but could never shake the equally hot-shooting Huskies. It was Tommy Bruner and Tyree Corbett who piloted Denver down the stretch for the victory. It was the fourth double-double of the season for the athletic Corbett who delivered  20 points and 11 rebounds while Bruner scored 20 points with 8 assists in the victory. Denver has won their last five consecutive games.

Denver shot 77% in the first 10 minutes but only led by five 25-20.  Tainamo had 9 of Denver’s early points. Husky guard Brycen Long kept HCU in the game with deadly shooting from the perimeter with 13 points. Denver held the lead for the rest of the half. Bruner gave DU an 8-point lead at the 3-minute mark on a driving lay-up. Tommy countered again with a 3-point bomb to put Denver up by 10, their biggest lead. with 2:53 remaining. HCU narrowed DU’s lead to 5 points but a Tyree Corbett dunk put DU up 49-42 before Houston countered with a bucket at the buzzer to close within five points, 49-44. It was a torrid first half with DU canning 69% of their field goal attempts along with 5 of 6 from downtown. The Huskies nailed 66.7% of their field goals and went 8 of 12 from behind the arc for the half.

An HCU layup gave the Huskies the lead 50-49 on four straight buckets to start the second half. Justin Mullins stopped the bleeding with a bucket. Denver came back, capped by a Marko Lukic lay-up and led at the officials timeout, 56-54. The red-hot shooting continued, as Brycen Long three’s kept HCU in the game. As the game heated up, consecutive called technicals on Corbett and Wulbrun pulled the score even,  71-71, with 10 minutes left. Denver kept their composure and moved out to a four-point lead with five minutes to go. Denver held the lead until the media timeout. Tyree Corbett started to take over the game on defense in the half with critical rebounds and key buckets. A Marko Lukic bucket after a Tyree Corbett steal kept Denver’s lead at four, 85-81 with 1:44 remaining. A crucial Tommy Bruner three at  1:09  gave  DU breathing room, 88-81, and Bruner delivered again with two free throws to eliminate any possibility of a rally by Houston Christian. Final score 93-83, Denver.

Best start in school history as a D1 Program (1998) ‼️‼️ Blessed to be a part of this group 🙏 Let’s keep it Rolling on Sunday 3pm in Hamilton ‼️ Be there! #GoPios @DU_MensHoops pic.twitter.com/PYoAWafB3o

— Ben Bowen (@benbowen40) December 2, 2022

The game marked Denver’s first 7-1 start in its DI history and marked five straight wins away from home. This season’s squad seems a million miles away from the 42-game road losing streak that Jeff Wulbrun inherited last season when taking over the program. “Really proud of the guys- it’s hard to win on the road. They (HCU) gave us all we could handle. It’s just great. They guys were locked in – they kept fighting. They knew it was winning time. (Winning close games) gives the team belief, trust and confidence.”

The team was treated to a celebratory dinner and South American fare at Say y Pimiento by Goddard.

Next up, Texas A&M Commerce Sunday, December 4th at Hamilton Gym at 2pm MT. Come out and see your Denver Pioneers!