DENVER (AP) - Jake Pemberton set career highs with 25 points and five 3-pointers to lead Denver to a 91-82 win over South Dakota State on Wednesday night.
C.J. Bobbitt scored 14 points, Thomas Neff added 13, Joe Rosga had 12, and Christian Mackey grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds. The Pioneers (13-8, 5-3 Summit) made 20 of 24 free throws (83.3 percent) and shot 30 of 60 from the field, while the Jackrabbits made 15 of 26 from behind the arc (57.7 percent).
Denver led by as many as 18 in the second half before SDSU closed to 61-50 on A.J. Hess’ layup with 12:32 to play, then trailed 81-74 after Mike Daum’s 3-pointer with 2:31 to go. Denver made six free throws in the final 57 seconds to seal it.
Rosga’s 3-pointer put Denver up, 14-12, for good and the Pioneers led 44-31 at halftime.
Daum scored 29 points with five 3-pointers and Hess added 19 with four 3s for South Dakota State (9-14, 2-6).
Please read our comment policy before commenting.