DENVER – While a new year dawns for the rest of the world, the MSU Denver men's basketball team got a fresh start about three weeks earlier.
 
After opening the season 0-3, the Roadrunners won three games in seven days before a two-week holiday break.
 
"We know who we are," junior guard Tonje Durham said. "We didn't show it the first few games, but it feels good to get back on track and do what we know we can do and what we're supposed to do."
 
MSU Denver hopes to keep the celebrations going this weekend, playing host to 4 p.m. games Saturday against Adams State and Sunday against CSU-Pueblo. Adams State is 2-2, while CSU-Pueblo is 0-4 and plays Saturday at Colorado Christian.
 
No fans will be allowed inside the Auraria Event Center due precautions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, but all Roadrunners games are streamed live and are available on demand on RoadrunnersTV.
 
Despite the sluggish start to the season, the Roadrunners' three straight wins have put them 3-3 overall and fourth in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference at 3-2.
 
The top three teams in the standings, Colorado Mesa (6-0 overall, 6-0 RMAC), Colorado School of Mines (6-0, 5-0) and Westminster (3-2, 3-2) are the three teams that defeated MSU Denver.
 
Mines has risen to No. 5 nationally in the NCAA Division II coaches poll, while Colorado Mesa is up to No. 14. The loss to Mines was a non-conference season opener, while the losses to Mesa and Westminster were on the road. The loss to Westminster was a one-point decision.
 
So obviously the 0-3 start with a nearly brand-new team wasn't as dire as it might have looked to some.
 
"You keep it in perspective," MSU Denver coach Michael Bahl said. "Winning his hard. We could make excuses about we didn't have this or that, but at the end of the day we have a job to do. Not to take credit away from our opponents, but we felt we were the reason the games went that way. We didn't do what we needed to do. Sometimes the best way to learn is coming off a loss."
 
Oh how have the Roadrunners learned.
 
They've learned that sophomore forward Laolu Oke is one of the leading rebounders in the country. He tied a school record with 20 boards in a Dec. 15 win over Colorado Christian, then added 17 more in a Dec. 17 win over South Dakota Mines to earn RMAC Defensive Player of the Week honors. He leads Division II in total rebounds (70) and offensive rebounds per game (6.5) and ranks fifth in rebound average (11.7), which leads the RMAC.
 
And they've learned they have multiple offensive options.
 
Five players scored in double figures in the win over South Dakota Mines: freshman Kobe Sanders had 16, junior Mavrick Gildyard had 15, freshman Obi Agbim scored 11, and Durham and junior Tyrei Randall each had 10.
 
"It's lovely, because you never know who is going to step up that particular day," Randall said. "Kobe has stepped up lately and we need somebody to give us that early lead. We have a nice spread of scoring across the board."
 
They've learned they can attack in different ways.
 
In a Dec. 12 win over Western Colorado, MSU Denver had 20 assists – its highest total in six years – which included 10 assists by Sanders, the most by a Roadrunner in 13 years. Senior Keyshaad Dixon hit two clutch 3-pointers in that game while handing out eight assists. Dixon leads the RMAC and is 14^th in Division II with 20 assists.

They've learned that defense is critical to their success -- they are 3-1 when holding opponents to less than 45 percent shooting from the field.
 
They've learned that some of the biggest clutch moments in the three-game win streak have been turned in by Agbim – like Sanders a true freshman coming off an all-state season as a high school senior. True freshman wing Christian Speller, Agbim's prep teammate, has provided all the intangibles since moving into the starting lineup three games ago.
 
And Bahl is hopeful of finding ways to get more minutes for even more players who are doing everything necessary in practice.
 
"We've got a great bunch of guys and we all just want to win," Durham said.

Those practices, this win streak, traces back to one other thing they've learned.
 
"Energy is contagious," Randall said. "Coach preaches that every day. Bring your energy and effort and we can do what we do."