Denver men’s basketball (3-5) played the Utah Tech Trailblazers Wednesday afternoon at the Stew Morrill Classic in Missoula, Montana. DU was without center Isaiah Carr, out indefinitely with a hand injury. It was the third game in three days for a depleted roster missing three of their four front line players from earlier in the season. That left the Pioneers with one big man, Pedro Lopez Sanvicente to protect the paint along with a host of freshmen guards and transfer guard Nicholas Shogbonyo. Ultimately, it was a ten-minute scoreless streak that stretched from the first half into the second half that put DU in a deficit they could never overcome.

Early in the first half at the officials’ timeout, Denver led 9-7 as the team appeared much more settled and focused than the prior two tournament games. Denver took the lead at the midway point as Josh Pickett scored a natural three-point play 20-19 as the Pioneers steadied themselves on both ends of the floor. Denver ran cold until the five-minute mark and trailed 29-26. As the scoreless streak continued from the field for the Pioneers,  Denver fell behind 39-29 at halftime. The cause of the differential was a scoreless period over eight minutes without a field goal at the end of the half. Denver shot 33% from the field and committed 6 turnovers while committing 11 personal fouls. It was cold shooting from the field that put DU in a ten-point hole. Nicholas Shogbonyo led Denver with 7 points and 3 rebounds.

Two minutes into the second half, Denver finally scored from the field, 41-31, on a lay-in by DeAndre Craig.  Denver struggled to put together a defensive run to cut into the Trailblazers lead. The Pioneers trailed by 12 at the midway point of the half on a Nicholas Shobognyo jumper. A layup by Pedro Lopez Sanvicente pulled Denver within eight points with five and a half minutes remaining but the Pioneers could never close the gap. Utah Tech built their lead to a dozen over the final five minutes to close out the contest, 68-54.

As DU’s only big man, Pedro Lopez Sanvicente played well with 9 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks in a strong effort over 29 minutes. Josh Lee scored  11 points with 5 steals and 2 rebounds in a solid all-around game. Sebastian Akins, a freshman, matched Lee with 11 points and pulled down 3 rebounds. DU’s newcomers pilled up 88 minutes on the floor. Denver shot 41% for the game, despite a ten-minute field goal drought that extended into both halves. Denver cut down on turnovers to 11 and were called for 22 personal fouls. Denver allowed 36 points in the paint, an improvement over their prior two games.

At this point, head coach Jeff Wulbrun will look to give his young squad maximum playing time and try to cover for the depleted front line until he can get the reinforcements back to include the return of Isaiah Carr and Abdulai Fanta Kabba. North Dakota proved several years ago in the regular season that a small lineup could compete in the Summit League. Wulbrun and his staff are left to jigger their offense and defense to accomodate a lack of strength and athleticism in the paint – all this while maintaining the confidence of a young squad.