by Jan. 29, 2015
FARGO, N.D. – Nate Engesser (Colorado Springs, Colo.) scored 15 points and had three assists but it was not enough as the University of Denver men’s basketball team dropped a heartbreaker 61-54 to the North Dakota State Bison in overtime Thursday evening at Scheels Arena.
The Pioneers (9-12, 3-5 Summit League) could not hold a 10-point halftime lead as the Bison (14-7, 6-2 Summit League) extended the eighth longest home winning streak in the NCAA to 21 games.
Lawrence Alexander and Paul Miller combined to go 7-of-12 from behind the 3-point line and hit six 3-pointers in the second half and overtime.
The Pioneers opened an 11-point lead, 33-22 with 13:29 left in the second half and led the from the start of the game until the 4:23 mark in the second half when a Kory Brown basket gave the Bison their first lead at 43-42.
From that point on it was back and forth with both teams taking leads and a last second shot by Jalen Love (Wichita, Kan.) fell short and the game headed to overtime.
In overtime after Denver tied the game at 49, NDSU’s Miller hit a 3-pointer and the Bison never trailed again.
Denver was outscored once again from the free-throw line, 16-7. NDSU shot 64.0 percent (16-of-25) from the charity stripe, while the Pioneers were a perfect 100.0 percent (7-of-7).
Brett Olson (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) scored 11 points, grabbed four rebounds and dished out three assists. Christian Mackey (Navajo Nation) tied his career-high with eight points and added three rebounds.
Bryant Rucker (Frisco, Texas) and Marcus Byrd (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) both scored six points. Love played all 45 minutes scoring four points and dishing out five assists. Daniel Amigo (El Paso, Texas) added two points, two assists and two steals.
Denver shot 43.5 percent (20-of-46), to North Dakota State’s 43.2 percent (19-of-44) from the field. The Pioneers made 41.2 percent from behind the 3-point line (7-of-17). The Bison shot 46.7 percent (7-of-15) from 3-point range.
The Pioneers came out firing, jumping out to an 11-3 lead in the first half. Denver forced NDSU into five turnovers in the first eight minutes of the contest. The Bison went on an 8-0 run and kept Denver scoreless for over seven minutes to tie the game at 11. Denver answered that run with a 15-5 to end the half.
The Crimson and Gold never trailed in the first half and led 26-16 at halftime. DU outscored the Bison 14-4 in the paint and forced nine first half turnovers.
Denver was led by Rucker who had six points in the first half. Olson dropped in five points and had two rebounds. The Pios bench came in and scored 10 first half points.
Denver shot 55.6 percent (10-of-18) from the floor in the opening 20 minutes. The Pioneers hit for 66.7 percent (2-of-3) from behind the arc in the first half. The Pioneers defense held North Dakota State to 29.4 percent (5-of-17) from the floor. The Bison shot 14.3 percent (1-of-7) from behind the 3-point line.
NDSU was led by Alexander who scored 21 points. Brown had a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds and Dexter Werner finished with 10 points and five rebounds.
Denver will stay on the road as they head to Brookings, S.D. to take on South Dakota State Saturday, Jan. 31 at 3:30 p.m. MT. The game can be seen on ESPN3 and heard on Mile High Sports Radio 94.1 FM.
