The University of Denver men’s basketball team echoes the common perception in college basketball that winning on the road is significantly more difficult than at home. The Pioneers are 7-1 at home and 0-11 on the road. Regardless, if the Pioneers are playing a 5-13 team or a 15-3 team, if it’s on the road, they reverberate the trend.
This past weekend was no different. Last Thursday, the Pioneers defeated Florida International 64-50 at home and were defeated by Western Kentucky 78-64 on the road.
At the Magness Arena last Thursday, freshman guard Kyle Lewis led all players with a career-high 22 points. Second among all players in points was freshman forward Rob Lewis who went for 16 points, seven rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal.
During the first six minutes of the game, Kyle Lewis led the Pioneers with six points and propelled the team to a 12-2 run, which resulted in an early 10-point lead. The Pioneers continued their domination and finished the first half leading 35-16.
“It seems like a good recipe to jump out early and grab big leads in the first half,” said Head Coach Joe Scott. “That’s a good sign, especially for a young team.”
With less than five minutes left, Florida International had crawled within seven points of DU. Kyle Lewis responded with a three pointer and extended the Pioneers lead to 10 points.
In the last 39 seconds, the Pioneers extended their lead from nine to 14 points with free throws by Kyle Lewis, junior forward Joe Jackson and senior center Adam Tanner.
Tanner had a career-high four blocks, went for 10 and made three rebounds, one assist and two steals. Meanwhile, sophomore forward Nate Rohnert led all players with five assists.
The road tells a different story, however. While Kyle Lewis went for 22 points in Thursday’s homer, he only went for three points last Sunday in DU’s loss to WKU. The Pioneers also committed a season-high 23 turnovers and went 16-for-39.
WKU’s Courtney Lee led a 9-0 run in the first half and a 13-0 run in the second half, which gave the Hilltoppers a lead by as many as 29 points. Lee led all players with 22 points and made four assists and three steals.
“Western Kentucky is a very good team that is very well coached,” said Scott. “They’re mostly seniors, and we’re mostly freshman, and that experience factor showed today.”
Rob Lewis tied his career high with 19 points and had a game-high nine rebounds and went 10-13 in free throws. Tanner went for 14 points, Jackson scored 12 points and Rohnert contributed 10 points. All four Pioneers improved their game from Thursday’s homer.
Isn’t a court just a court? Despite playing a top game, the Pioneers still came up short on the road this past weekend.
What causes the Pioneers and most other college basketball teams to falter on the road? The Pioneers won’t have to answer this question soon as this coming week they host two games at the Magness Arena.
On Thursday, the Pioneers will face Troy and Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday.
