Thursday night was not the contest that Denver men’s basketball fans were hoping for when they saw the Crimson and Gold take on in-conference opponent North Dakota State. The Bison put up big numbers offensively, overwhelming DU. Denver was defeated 90-70, dropping their fourth game in a row. 

The start of the game was a back-and-forth pace, and each team was trading buckets. Sophomore forward Touko Tainamo (Helsinki, Finland) was able to work his way near the glass and get two of the first three baskets for the Crimson and Gold. Tainamo would finish with a team-high 13 points in the game. 

After Tainamo’s buckets, the Bison would go on a 10-0 run that would act as a catalyst for their high-flying offense. North Dakota State junior forward Grant Nelson was the leader of the attack and was a handful on both ends of the floor for DU. Nelson finished with 17 points and four blocks, both game-highs. 

DU would crawl back into the contest thanks to baskets by a variety of players. After going down by 12, the Crimson and Gold worked their way into the paint and decreased the Bison lead to six points with only two minutes left in the half. North Dakota State would get the last touch of the ball in the half, draining a three from well behind the 3-point line to widen the gap going into halftime. 

The Bison continued to throw the punches in the game and increased their lead to 15 points at the start of the second half. Denver was never able to gain a lead during the game. Head Coach Jeff Wulbrun described the things his team will need to do to make up for the lack of verve. 

“You need multiple efforts,” he said. “You can’t wane and our efforts are not what it needs to be. Plain and simple.”

DU would not go down without a fight though, finding momentum late in the game on the defensive side of the court. The Crimson and Gold pocketed four steals, one becoming a highlight-reel-worthy play by junior guard Tommy Bruner (Columbia, S.C). Bruner snatched the ball out of a North Dakota State guard’s hands, took the ball coast to coast, and finished a tough, contested layup. 

But eventually, the scoring was too much for Denver and the Bison were able to outpace them in the end by a 20-point margin. The final score was 90-70, with the Crimson and Gold in the deficit. 

It was not an entirely negative weekend for the team though as they took down North Dakota on Saturday afternoon, 78-71. With the win, the team moves to an 11-9 record on the season and will look to get a win on the road when they take on South Dakota Thursday night. This is the start of a four-game road trip for the team, and they will return home on Feb. 2 to take on Western Illinois.