WHAT HAPPENED: Denver (13-12, 4-8 Summit) snapped a three-game losing streak with arguably its most dominant win of the season, a 74-44 throttling of Western Illinois (14-9, 7-5). It was by far the fewest points allowed in a game by the Pioneers this season, who give up the most points per game in the Summit League, and it came against the team that came into the night third in the conference. The Pios also shut down one of the top scorers in the conference in WIU’s Trenton Massner, who scored just 9 points, well off his average of nearly 19 per game.

STAR OF THE NIGHT: Junior guard Tommy Bruner continues to lead the way in his first season with DU. The Jacksonville transfer had 18 points on 8-for-13 shooting from the field. He came into the night averaging 16.5 points per game and will have to lead the way if DU wants to make a run in the Summit League tournament next month.

QUOTABLE: “I told the team, ‘I’ve gotta give you a path to success for you to have confidence.’ We talked about doing a better job and not letting those guys get open looks in transition. We made them work for everything that they had. — DU coach Jeff Wulbrun on the defensive effort

UP NEXT: Denver remains home and will host St. Thomas on Saturday at 4 p.m. at Hamilton Gymnasium. The Pios lost to St. Thomas (15-11, 6-6) early last month, but will have a chance to get revenge and continue to make progress after a slow start in conference play.