It was a critical game for Denver men’s basketball as they attempted to improve their seeding in the Summit League standings to avoid the extra play-in game in the Summit League Tournament. Freshman Sebastian Akins led the Pioneers with 15 points, securing the freshman scoring record at the University of Denver. However, it was lockdown defense and a rapidly improving Abdulai Fanta Kabba anchoring the interior that put an exclamation point on the 71-60 home win.
https://twitter.com/DU_MensHoops/status/1892437406843834780
Denver had a solid first half, leading the entire way and finishing with a six-point edge, 29-23. DU shot 46% from the field and held ORU to 24% from the field. Issac McBride, ORU’s best player, was held to three points and looked sluggish. Sebastian Akins led the Pioneers with 6 points but it was Denver’s defense that was the biggest factor in the first 20 minutes.
McBride got the Golden Eagles going early in the second half and ORU forged a tie at 12:04, 39-39. However, McBride and the Golden Eagles went cold and the Pioneer defense heated up. The Pioneers never trailed the entire game. A DeAndre Craig three-point make with nine minutes left gave Denver some breathing room and a six-point lead, 49-43. Nicholas Shogbonyo, Akins and Kabba took the Pioneer lead to nine points with five minutes remaining. An Akins lay-up and a pair of free throws by Isaiah Carr built a 13-point lead, 62-49, with three-and-a-half minutes left. ORU was left to foul down the stretch and could get no closer than six points to Denver. Final score 71-60.
DU held the Golden Eagles to 38% shooting from the field and battled for 11 more rebounds than ORU. Kabba finished with 4 points but three blocks and two steals came at critical times during the game. Denver’s trio of guards – Shagbonyo, Craig, and of course Akins, continued their double-digit performances.
Denver appears to be coming into form at just the right time for conference tournament time. They have won two of their last three games with the loss being an overtime road defeat. However, they must win against the UMKC Roos on the road and close out the regular season at Hamilton Gym against the South Dakota South Dakota State Jackrabbits to avoid the dreaded conference tournament play-in game.
What a great game! Congrats to the team and it was nice to see Isaiah Carr playing in person again. Have really enjoyed the local school pep bands that have showed up to a handful of games lately.
I fully support DU men’s basketball, but has the team had a single game attendance over 1,000? Also, the lack of a Pioneer pep band is very disappointing. I guess a high school pep band needs to be paid if basketball or hockey goes to post-season. Lamont School of Music must have a lot of muscle. I’ve heard that the soccer players pay the guy to beat the drum at soccer games!
The school is working on a permanent solution for a pep band but it is taking time. Next year is the target date.
The two 7-footers make DU a completely different team.