It often takes only one basket for former Ankeny star Carson Johnson to get on a roll.
That was the case on Wednesday night inside Hamilton Gymnasium, where the University of Denver’s sophomore point guard got off to a hot start and scored a season-high 33 points to lead the Pioneers to a 98-87 victory over Oral Roberts.
Johnson went 9-of-16 from the field, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range, and connected on all 11 of his free throws. He also grabbed four rebounds and dished out three assists.
“It was just a great feeling tonight,” Johnson said in a postgame interview. “We’re always excited to come out here and play in front of this great crowd. We had a good one tonight, and that definitely propelled us to have that momentum and energy.”
Johnson erupted for 24 points in the first half alone, going 7-of-9 from the field and 7-of-7 at the line in the opening 20 minutes. He knocked down his first four shots, including three from behind the arc, to give the Pioneers an early 15-11 lead at the first media timeout.
“My teammates put me in good spots to get good looks,” Johnson said.
Johnson went on to surpass the 30-point mark for the second time in his career, but he got a lot of help from his teammates as Denver racked up its third-most points against a DI opponent in a regulation game since the Pioneers rejoined Division I in 1998-99. Jeremiah Burke and Zane Nelson each had 20 points and seven rebounds as Denver improved to 9-11 on the season.
“We play our best when we get that ball moving around and everyone’s touching it,” Johnson said.
Johnson finished in double figures for the eighth straight game, the 18th time this season and the 38th time of his career. He finished with 20 or more points for the ninth time this season and the 21st time in his career.
Johnson’s 33 points were the most by a player in the Summit League this season and tied for the eighth-most in a game against a DI opponent in the Pioneers’ DI history. He is now averaging a team-high 18.5 points and 2.7 assists while shooting nearly 42 percent from deep (52-of-124).
Johnson and the Pioneers will play at Kansas City on Jan. 28 and at Omaha on Feb. 15.