Pioneers su≠er epic Whiteout

OMAHA 69, DENVER 55

There wasn’t any secret formula.

It was just 6-foot-8 forward Jake White exercising the lessons of basketball Thursday night, leading the Omaha Mavericks to a 69-55 drubbing of the Denver Pioneers at Magness Arena.

The lesson: Any good big man will usually have his way in basketball when the opposition has no answers, contributes 13 turnovers and has a horrendous shooting night from the field. The Pioneers (10-10, 2-5 Summit League) hit only 17-of-49 shots from the field, including a dismal 5of-25 from 3-point range.

White finished with 29 points, including 10 down the stretch.

The Mavericks (13-7, 5-1) led from the 13:58 mark of the first half to the end. Denver spent most of the time hovering just off the pace until six minutes were left, when White and Co. pulled away.

“If you look at the first 35 minutes of the game, it was turnovers and poor shooting for us,” DU coach Joe Scott said. “White really played well for them. We got some good shots, but we couldn’t make them when we had a chance to get a lead.”

The Pioneers tried a press to gain advantage. The result? Omaha got 40 points in the paint.

Omaha coach Derrin Hansen acknowledged White’s game, but he also noted the work of players around him.

“Jake was tremendous tonight, but our other players came through when we were struggling early,” Hansen said. “We couldn’t find him early, but our guards started to look to Jake and he took over the game.”

DU freshman C.J Bobbitt had a career-high 17 points, and freshman teammate Joe Rosga added 12.

The first half was 20 minutes of poor shooting for both teams, but White’s performance under the basket was a factor in Omaha’s 28-21 lead at halftime.