Denver men’s basketball hosted Oral Roberts last week, pulling away with a Summit League win, 71-60.
Denver took an early lead, led by scoring from freshman guard Sebastian Akins and sophomore guard DeAndre Craig. They each had six of Denver’s first 17, with Akins adding a steal for a fastbreak layup and an assist off the drive for a dunk from junior center Isaiah Carr. This early action gave Denver a 17-7 lead with 12:21 left in the half.
Oral Roberts fought back to make the score 20-15 with 9:01 on the clock and were looking to turn their momentum into a lead.
Denver put up a strong defensive effort for the rest of the half, taking a ten-point lead with freshman center Abdulai Fanta Kabba passing the ball out to freshman forward Josh Pickett, who drained the three with 3:58 left in the half. Denver finished the half winning, 29-23.
Denver started the second half similar to the first. With 16:21 on the clock, Akins drove to the rim and floated it in for two to give Denver a 37-28 lead. This basket tied Joe Rosga for Denver’s freshman scoring record in a season. Rosga scored 367 points in the 2015-16 campaign.
Denver’s scoring slowed and Oral Roberts’ Jojo Moore scored to tie the game at 41 with 10:57 left.
Graduate student guard Isaiah Addo-Ankrah and Craig both hit threes to put Denver up 49-43 with 8:59 left to play.
With 5:14 left to play, Akins caught a swing pass from junior guard Josh Lee and drained a three to give Akins the Denver freshman scoring record.
“It’s pretty cool…coming into the season I wasn’t trying to set any records. I was just trying to play my role,” said Akins.
Akins’ three gave Denver the final push, and they closed out the game to win, 71-60. Akins led the team in scoring for the game as well with 15 points.
This win completed their sweep of Oral Roberts this season in the Summit League and moved their Summit League record to 4-10 and their overall record to 10-19.
Denver will be back on the road next week to face Kansas City on Feb. 27 and will host South Dakota State on March 1.
