Pioneers Hold Off East Central 76-75
Kummer records first career double-double

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NORMAN, Okla. – Senior forward David Kummer (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) scored 16 points and pulled down 13 rebounds, both career highs, as the Pioneers won their season opener against East Central 76-75 in overtime.

“At this juncture, we’ll take any win,” head coach Joe Scott said. “We played well for 30 minutes. Now we need to get to the point where we are playing well the entire game.”

DU (1-0) led by 20 points with 11:25 to play in regulation, but the Tigers stormed back to take their first lead of the game with 52 seconds left and kept that lead until senior center Adam Tanner (Melbourne, Australia) hit the tying free throw with two seconds on the clock to send it to overtime.

East Central (0-1) held the lead in the extra period until freshman guard Kyle Lewis (Denver, Colo.) hit a three-pointer with 14 seconds left, and freshman forward Rob Lewis (Colorado Springs, Colo.) buried a pair of free throws with nine seconds remaining.

The Tigers had one last chance, but sophomore guard Tyler Bullock (Lincoln, Neb.) blocked a shot by Terrell Carpenter with one tick remaining.

Kummer, who missed all of last season with a knee injury, hit the double-double mark six minutes into the second half.

Rob Lewis had a game-high 19 points and Kyle Lewis chipped in 14 points in their first college games, while Tanner added 12 points.

The win marked the first road victory for the Pioneers since they beat Middle Tennessee during the SBC Tournament on March 5, 2006.

Denver advances to the second round of the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic tomorrow night at 6 p.m. MT. The Pioneers will play the winner of tonight’s second game between Oklahoma and San Francisco.