Denver men’s basketball (7-15, 1-6) traveled to Tulsa Thursday night to face the ORU Golden Eagles. Both teams have struggled this season but for DU, the game offered a chance to snap a six-game conference skid on the road. Denver put together two solid halves and scored the winning bucket when freshman Sebastian Akins drove the lane and passed to an open Kabba Abdualai Fanta for the dunk, 70-68, with 1.5 seconds remaining in the game.
Link to the winning play:
https://twitter.com/DU_MensHoops/status/1882643584190644290
At the midway point of the first half, the Golden Eagles forged a nine-point lead, 24-15. Denver responded with a flurry. In less than a minute and a half, DU caught the home team, 24-24, following buckets by Pedro Lopez Sanvicente (3), Sebastian Akins, and a pair of baskets from DeAndre Craig. In the waning minutes, the teams were knotted at 35-35 and DU’s Abdualai Fanta and Shogbonyo capped off the scoring with DU earning the lead at the break, 39-34.
DU opened the second half and held the lead over the next ten minutes with the largest margin of nine-points which was cut to one point. With five minutes remaining, ORU secured their first and biggest lead of the half, two points, on a bucket by Jalen Miller. Denver tied the score again and with 4:40 remaining, Abdulai Fanta responded with a bucket in the paint, 64-62, Denver. From that point forward, DU never relinquished the lead. ORU tied Denver for a final time on a free throw by Issac McBride with seven seconds left. Denver responded. The Pioneers drove the court with the ball in Akins’ hands. Akins drove the lane and fed Abdualai Fanta for the dunk and the win, 70-68.
Nicholas Shogbobyo led Denver with 15 points and 5 rebounds. DeAndre Craig had an outstanding game. The floor general had 13 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal. DU big-man Abdulai Fanta had his best game in Crimson & Gold with 10 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals and the game-winning bucket. And, for the first time in a long time, the team put together two solid halves.
Kansas City travels to Mile High City to face Denver next Thursday at 7:00 pm MT at Hamilton Gym.
Good road win for the Pios, and they probably slept well on the airplane back to Denver from Tulsa. ORU may not be world-beaters, but getting league wins on the road isn’t easy when you are short-handed.
Glad to see the DU is reducing turnovers of late, too. It is the mark of a disciplined program.
We’re watching Kabba gain confidence in his game before our eyes, and DU will need these kind of performances from him if the Pios wish to be competitive down the stretch.
Dunker enjoys every game to some degree, but last night was totally awesome. The final play was beautifully designed and executed. Kabba won’t be that good every night; he’s just starting out. His potential is very high. Hope he stays and we get the benefit. 22 minutes. Impressed he had the stamina. Pedro is an enigma. He looked so skilled and in control last night. Wish his inside/outside game was consistent, but it’s not. Dre played very smart and seems to get others to be better at passing ball to Kabba. No bounce passes to any 7’0” knees. Shobyno was a man on the boards. I just gave coach and many players praise. Did we win because Oral really stinks?