The discouraging theme repeated itself once again on Saturday afternoon. DU men’s basketball (9-13, 2-5) plays an opponent close all game long, takes the lead late in the game – only to let it slip away in the final minutes.

Here’s how it happened at Hamilton.

Denver men’s basketball faced the Fighting Hawks, winners of two straight Summit League conference games. For Denver, this was a key match-up coming off a close, last-minute loss to a strong North Dakota State University basketball team. The lead changed hands 20 times with the Pioneers holding a narrow 78-77 lead with 3:57 remaining in the game. The Fighting Hawks held the lead the rest of the way, despite Denver cutting the visitors’ advantage to one-point with a minute remaining. Ultimately, Denver could not get the defensive stops when they needed them the most. Final score, 93-86.

Opening the first half, UND used a pair of three-point buckets to move out to an 11-7 lead five minutes into the contest. A pair of Carson Johnson free throws at the midway mark gave DU a 23-22 lead. The teams traded points over the next several minutes. A Shaun Wysocki dunk gave Denver a 4-point edge with 5:33 remaining as neither team could pull away from the other. In the final minute of the half, Shaun Wysocki struck again with a three-point make and Denver took the lead into the locker room, 46-45. Denver shot 55.6% from the field and drained 8 of 13  shots from beyond the arc, yet only led by one point as the Fighting Hawks’ offensive production was equally gaudy.

Both teams’ cooled down in the second half as the score held close. At the five-minute mark, UND led by four, 60-56. The margin held over the next five minutes, capped by a pair of free throw makes by DU’s Diddier Maleng. Following some key baskets from Carson Johnson and a three-pointer from Julius Rollins, Denver clung to a one-point lead, 76-75, with five minutes remaining in the game, Denver clung to a one-point deficit behind UND for the next two minutes until a driving layup by UND’s Garratt Anderson put the visitors up by three points. Denver reeled the game back to a two-point deficit on Carson Johnson’s 32nd point on a turnaround make. With a minute remaining, Jeremiah Burke hit a three-point shot to draw within one point, 86-85, but the Fighting Hawks buried free throws down the stretch to finish out the game.

No one can fault the players’ effort or coaching staff for this loss. Denver’s margin for victory is paper-thin this season.  It is clear that the Pioneers are struggling with confidence down the stretch of games to hold and extend leads. Carson Johnson had amazing offensive production with 32 points. Julius Rollins had a solid game with 13 points and 5 rebounds. Zane Nelson shagged 7 rebounds and scored 6 points in the losing effort. Denver played nine players deep from their roster in an effort to keep their key players fresh for the closing stretch. However, once again, Denver gave up points in the paint, 36, at key times during the game. North Dakota also beat Denver on the boards by 6. All this adds up to another frustrating loss in the Summit League.

Denver travels to Kansas City for a Wednesday game against UMKC at 6:00 pm MT.