It was not at all a close game Thursday night at Hamilton Gymnasium and fans saw a commanding outing from the Denver men’s basketball program. Graduate student forward Tyree Corbett (Philadelphia, Pa.) led the way for DU to win their second game of the year with 19 points and 10 rebounds. This is the first time these two teams have met since 2001 when Denver won 90-61. The Crimson and Gold played a tremendous game on both ends of the court and trounced the Tigers 90-68.
DU played a great defensive game from the start. Three minutes into the first half, sophomore guard Tevin Smith (Danville, Ill.) picked up the ball out of the pocket of the Colorado College guard and finished a casual dunk to give the Crimson and Gold an early seven-point lead. DU finished with nine steals on the night and four of those came in the first half.
Denver was also tremendous in getting to the free-throw line in the first half. The team drew 14 fouls in the first half and 21 free throw attempts. Four minutes into the half, sophomore forward Touko Tainamo (Helinski, Finland) charged down the lane and drew a blocking foul while finishing the tough layup. DU finished the half making 14 of their 21 free throws.
After being down by 20 at the end of the first half, the Tigers pushed back for the first time in the game to open up the second half. The Tigers went on a 9-1 run to open up the half and put Denver on their heels defensively. But the Crimson and Gold did not let up and expanded their lead to 24 by the halfway point of the half.
A huge part of the domination of the Crimson and Gold was on the glass. Denver outrebounded the Tigers 47-30 and Tainamo led the way with 11 of his own. 12 of the rebounds came from the offensive side of the court which DU turned into 12 points of scoring.
Bench players that usually don’t see too many minutes got to make appearances towards the end of the second half. Freshman guard Dan Mukana (Dortmund, Germany) was met with an ovation as he entered the game for the first time this season. He got a basket after he drove down the lane and bodied a Tiger defender. He then flashed a “too small” symbol to the player that hyped up the DU home crowd.
Head Coach Jeff Wulbrun talked about what it meant for his bench players to have success in Thursday’s game for the team. “We talk to our guys all the time about enjoying the success of others and you certainly saw that tonight,” he said. “Those guys work so hard in practice and it’s nice for them to have their moments.”
DU never trailed in the contest and defeated the Tigers 90-68.
Denver will look to remain undefeated on the year with a home game against Sacramento State. The team will stay home and take on the out-of-conference Hornets in Hamilton Gymnasium Monday night before they go on the road for the first away game of the season against Idaho State.
