DU men’s basketball (8-8, 1-0) opened conference play on New Years Eve afternoon at Hamilton Gym. The Pioneers lead throughout the game and coasted to a double-digit victory, 87-74. Sure, UMKC is a struggling team but Denver did exactly what they needed to do in a complete team win. DU fans will learn even more when Denver travels to Minnesota to play St Thomas Sunday, the preseason favorites in the Summit League.

In the first 20 minutes, Denver jumped out to an early lead, 14-4, at the four minute mark. A minute later, DU led 18-4, on 67% shooting from the field. Gabe Oldham led the early assault on the Roos. DU’s lead ballooned at the midway mark as Julius Rollins scored in the paint 30-11. UMKC chipped away over the next five minutes, while DU missed some close-in shots, 33-19. Burke stopped the UMKC run with a bucket-and-one. Free throws from Zane Nelson and Julius Rollins kept the lead at double digits, 39-26. The Pioneers held serve the final minute, 41-28.

In the first minute of the second half, UMKC carved Denver’s advantage to 9. A Carson Johnson pull-up jumper stopped the bleeding. Johnson picked up his third foul with DU up by 10 after five minutes. Gabe Oldham picked up his fourth foul a minute later. A Logan Kinsey bucket-and-one pulled the Denver lead to eleven, 55-44. A three-point bomb by Carson Johnson put DU up 63-50 at the midway mark. Zane Nelson buried a layup with six minutes left, 74-61. Johnson and Burke followed with a three-point makes to extend the lead to 16 points with four minutes remaining. Oldham fouled out, leaving DU at a size disadvantage, as the Roos closed the gap to 10 with 2:35 remaining. A Shaun Wysocki dunk with a minute to go, 83-72, put the game away as fouls ensued. Final score, 87-74.

Denver displayed active defense and held their own in the paint against the bigger Roos and had only 6 turnovers. DU shot 47% for the game and were led by Johnson’s 23 points. Jeremiah Burke hauled down 11 boards and scored 16 points in an all-around team effort.