DU men’s basketball (9-12, 2-4) faced conference-undefeated North Dakota State University Bison (17-5, 7-0) Thursday night at Hamilton Gym. Denver hung close to the Bison but the visitors went to the paint down the stretch to thwart any chance of a Denver upset. In the 82-77 loss, Denver gave up 36 points in the paint and were out-rebounded by 7 on the night.
It was a slow start for DU as the Bison exploited the paint, building a 45-37 lead at the halftime break. NDSU collected 20 points in the paint and shot a sizzling 54% for the half. The Bison built a 15 point lead, their largest of the half, 43-28, but Denver chipped away in the final minutes. Zane Nelson led Denver with 11 points and Carson Johnson with 8. Denver shot 50% to stay in contact after the first twenty minutes.
Zane Nelson went off in the first five minutes of the second half, drilling a long jumper and a tray, 45-45. Jeremiah Burke gave Denver the lead against his old team, 47-45. A Logan Kinsey three-point make built a 5-point advantage. Denver’s offense stalled and Denver trailed 57-56 at the midway mark. A Burke stuff pulled DU within four points with five minutes to go. A Burke three-point make pulled DU within three, followed by a Nelson tray pulled the game even at 68. The Bison countered every bucket by Denver with one of their own. NDSU kept working in the paint and owned a 76-72 lead with one minute remaining. A Bison tray by Andy Stefonowicz made it 79-72 with 25 seconds remaining and the game was over as the teams traded points. Final score, 82-77.
Carson Johnson finished with 21 points and five assists. Zane Nelson had another solid game with 20 points and six rebounds. Gabe Oldham battled inside to register 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Next up is North Dakota at 2:00 pm MT at Hamilton Gym.
Excellent college basketball game. Very fun watch. In the end, NDSU was too talented. Staff made a major no challenge of timing error to end the first half. NDSU had ball out with 36 seconds remaining. They didn’t get a shot off. DU inbounded with 4.2 seconds left. DU would have won challenge and probably worked for a decent shot in 6 seconds. That can’t happen.
Crowd helped. Announcers said largest crowd in Hamilton history, 1,900 and change. Bergy showed frustration in postgame interview of team coming close but not winning while running out of games. He should just say he’s disappointed with the loss and call it a night. He doesn’t have a star studded lineup. I hope he’s not a coach who blames his players; it’s not like the kids didn’t play their asses off. Not fair for me to write this anonymously. I’m Dunker.
Sorry Dunker, I’m not seeing how he threw his team under the bus at all. He said “We” gotta be better and “We” are getting so close and “We” are running out of games. Even said when “we” get away from our plan or whatever is when “we” get in trouble. He said “they” gotta do better but in the same sentence said “I” gotta do better.
It’s all about how someone hears things, but I didn’t take it as him throwing the guys under the bus at all and that is not the type of coach he seems to be to me. He did say they gave great effort and has talked about their improvement on defensive end, but everyone in that locker room knows they still have work to do. Instead of 5 stops they need to get 8. They want to be better. They need to be better. They know it.
I hope he showed frustration after a tough battle and a loss like that. He knows it wasn’t from a lack of effort. They all need to execute better. The horn sounded, he shook hands, then he walked across the court and put headset on. He’s a competitor. I didn’t play and I was frustrated in the end (even though it was encouraging) but I didn’t have to put a headset on.
Just my .02 on the interview and how I took it. Nobody is right or wrong.
The crowd was great!! Hope they continue to support the team like that. Let’s hope they can go on a little run over the next few games. Nothing will be easy! Maybe not a star studded lineup, but there are a couple of stars out there and some guys that help for sure. This team can compete in the Summit for sure! Most people didn’t expect them to be this competitive this year. Hope they continue to prove people wrong.
Dunker again. NDSU’s Trevian Carson is the best player in the Summit. He’s such a tweeter size at 6’3”. Higher mid majors probably didn’t want to recruit him because of his size. His stats are outstanding.
PioHoops, well stated. Bergy didn’t have a chance for a deep breath before they slapped headphones on him. I like him. He’s a competitor not used to losing, thus in reflection, I don’t think he said anything wrong. We just aren’t talented enough where we can miss big shots at crucial times and escape with a win. DU has to keep momentum going, but the kids are human. It’s tough counting on the top 7 players to shoot well every night.
Bergy has certainly delivered on his promises. Kids play hard every night which makes DU an easy team to root for.
The game tomorrow against UND is really a must win if we want to finish 4-6 in the league with maybe a little breathing room. Another huge crowd should spur us on.