It was only fitting that DU star guard Carson Johnson, a Minnesota State Moorehead transfer, nailed the winning shot with 1.8 seconds remaining to give new DU head coach Tim Bergstraser his first win, a 75-73 thriller over the Montana State Bobcats in Bozeman, Mont.  It was a battle that went down to the wire — in fact, the final minute-and-a-half — for DU to take a two-point lead on a Carson Johnson make from downtown. Montana came back to knot the score. The game-winner by Johnson was a turn-around floater in the paint and the Bobcats were unable to score in the limited remaining time.

CJ makes his mark at the DI level with this winner! Glad he’s a Pio!#GoPios pic.twitter.com/RLpRSLYTgq

— Denver Men’s Basketball (@DU_MensHoops) November 9, 2025

The game started well for DU, especially coming off road losses to the University of Washington and Seattle University earlier in the week.  At the first-half media timeout, DU held a 9-5 lead on hot shooting – all five Denver starters had checked on the score sheet. At the midway mark of the half, Jeremiah Burke’s 7 points led the Pioneers in scoring, but 4 turnovers kept the game tight, 17-18, MSU. A Bobcat 17-0 run left DU trailing 30-19 with six minutes left in the half. The Pioneers’ Burke then caught fire, heating up to 17 points to pull within five points of the Bobcats with several minutes remaining. A three-point make by Denver’s Zane Nelson from downtown knotted the score 38-38 at the halftime buzzer. DU had shot 57.1% from the field, but it was eight turnovers that kept the game tight. Logan Kinsey complemented Burke with seven points, and Julius Rollins gathered seven rebounds in the first 20 minutes.

Five minutes into the second half, a Logan Kinsey layup pulled DU within one point, 47-46, and that margin consistently held through the first ten minutes, when a lay-up by Davian Brown gave MSU a 3-point lead.  While Burke’s shooting hand ran cold in the final half, Logan Kinsey heated up (13 points/game) and, of course, Carson Johnson (19 points/game ) got hot with the game on the line. With less than five minutes to go, MSU had built a 5-point lead and looked to be running away with the game. Carson Johnson then took over with a lay-up, a 3-pointer, and the game-winning turnaround jumper. In between Johnson’s surge, Jeremiah Burke (23 points to lead DU) nailed two critical free throws to set up Johnson’s last-second heroics.

DU shot 58.2% from the field and cut down on first-half turnovers, with 13 for the game. DU also had the rebound edge 31-24.

Next up for Denver is the first home game of the season at Hamilton Gym. DU will face the University of Texas San Antonio (UTSA) at noon on Saturday, November 15th.