Denver men’s basketball (13-15, 6-7) traveled to the Big O (that’s what they call it) Sunday to face the Omaha Mavs. Denver, riding a three game winning streak, had a chance to make it four and jump South Dakota and Omaha in the standings, both sitting at 6-6. Unfortunately, shaky defense and hot Omaha shooting sunk the Pioneers. 83-76.

Denver fell behind early, 10-3, in the first three minutes. A pair of Josh Lee free throws at the five minute mark held the Mavs at bay, 16-10, but the Pioneers could not match the Mavs red-hot scoring. The teams traded points at the midway mark, capped by a Didier Maleng dunk as DU continued to trail 26-20. A floater from Jeremiah Burke and a turnaround jumper from Omaha’s Ja’Sean Glover kept the gap at half a dozen. The Mavs pulled away in the final five minutes, 49-38, as the Mavs outscored Denver by an additional 5 points and led by 11 at the midway break. Denver shot a solid 50% in the first half but Omaha shot a sizzling 60% from the field. Omaha was 7-12 from downtown and DU could only force one turnover in the half. The only positive for DU was rebounding, which the Pioneers led 18-11.

The second half was better but DU’s winning formula, holding opponents under 80 points, was at serious risk. Denver closed the gap in the first five minutes, capped by a Jeremiah Burke tray which narrowed the Omaha lead, 57-49. At the midway mark, a Julius Rollins make from distance sliced the lead to 6 points. At the five minute mark, a Logan Kinsey jumper was countered by UNO’s Grant Stubblefield as Omaha pulled back to a 5 point lead. Denver struggled to get stops as Omaha pulled away with a deuce, a tray and free throws down the stretch. Denver made a push but a poor first half defensive effort sunk Denver’s chances.

Omaha shot 54.4% from the field and buried 11 of 19 shots from distance. Denver had 10 turnovers that led to 13 points. Denver was +14 on rebounds with Gabe Oldham hauling down 9. Burke led DU with 18 points and 5 rebounds in the road loss.

Next up is a game against South Dakota at Hamilton Gym on Thursday at 7:00 pm MT.