The Crimson and Gold welcomed the St. Regis Rangers to Hamilton Gymnasium for a much-spirited affair on Wednesday night. Denver came out of the gate strong, jumping to a commanding 9-0 lead, with a field goal percentage of nearly .67.
The 2021-22 NCAA season features a younger lineup from across the globe for DU, including five first-year athletes and three international students. The NCAA granted an extra year of eligibility due to the coronavirus pandemic, allowing transfer students—like junior guard Payton Moore (Los Angeles, Calif.), who played his freshman and sophomore years at Rice University—to play right away instead of sitting out a year, bringing several opportunities for collegiate athletes across the country.
The new coaching staff, along with additional rules from the NCAA, has brought much-needed excitement to the Denver basketball program, which had a 2-19 overall record last season.
The rigorous academic atmosphere and success on the national scale of several athletic programs drew Head Coach Jeff Wulbrun to the Crimson and Gold.
With five seasons at Stanford—initially serving as an assistant coach and then being promoted to associate head coach in the 2018-19 season—and 21 years of experience in the NCAA—Wulbrun not only offers expertise as a head coach but success in sending three different college programs to the March Madness tournament, which is a feat DU has yet to accomplish.
Even when Regis finally started to settle into the game mid-first half and were able to slow down Denver’s attack, DU’s defense kept the Rangers out from the inside and forced most of their offensive attack to beyond the arc, holding them to a field goal percentage of .33.
Denver’s ball movement and balance of offensive attack from midrange, close-range and long-range, often making 3-pointers in timely moments, allowed the Crimson and Gold to maintain a steady lead over the course of the game until they got into foul trouble the last three minutes of the second half, with two defensive 3-point shooting fouls called.
Regis was able to convert 5-out-of-6 free throws within the last minute, cutting Denver’s lead to one with 6.3 seconds to go. Before the last free throw, Moore was fouled on the other end and went 2-for-2 with 4.2 seconds left on the clock, giving Denver a 68-65 lead.
The Rangers were able to get a look behind the arc to tie the game up, but came up short as they did most of the night shooting from long-range; the Crimson and Gold were able to hold on and give Jeff Wilburn his first victory as head coach.
