Photo by: Michael Furman
Over break, DU’s men’s basketball team rose to the top of the Sun Belt Conference with an 11-game home win streak.
Despite having consistent problems winning on the road, the Pioneers (12-5, 5-1) won all six of their home games in December while tacking on two more home wins in early January.
On Sunday afternoon, Denver defeated two-time defending SBC champion, Western Kentucky 72-67 in Magness Arena.
Western Kentucky’s A.J Slaughter scored 28 points in the contest, yet the Hilltoppers failed to take the lead against DU.
Denver shot 66.7 percent from the field against Western Kentucky, the sixth highest shooting percentage in school history. The Pioneers are the No. 2 shooting team in the nation.
Senior guard Nate Rohnert emerged Sunday with a team-high 23 points and junior forward Rob Lewis contributed with 15 points. Rohnert is averaging a team-high 16.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.6 assists. He had a career high 34-point game against Seattle on Dec. 22.
That same night, the Pioneers defeated Seattle University 84-83 thanks to Andrew Hooper’s buzzer beating three-pointer.
Three days before that, Rohnert surpassed the 1,000-point mark against Louisiana Monroe. Rohnert has entered into the top-25 scorers in DU history and is now No. 6 on DU’s all-time assist list.
The Pioneer captain is leading a young, energetic squad that currently leading the conference. Denver sits alone atop the West division by half a game.
Like the men’s team, the women’s team is also enjoying mid season success.
Thanks to a nine-game win streak in December and January, which included three road wins; the Pioneers (10-6, 5-1) sit atop the Western Division of the SBC just in front of Arkansas Little-Rock.
After starting out 1-5 through six games, DU is in a good position to be a serious contender in the SBC.
Through 16 games, the Pioneers starting lineup has remained intact, an important factor to a team who lacks depth.
Senior forward Ashly Robinson leads a tight-knit lineup averaging a team-high 7.8 rebounds and 7.6 points per game.
Junior guard Britteni Rice leads the team averaging 14.8 points a game.
Sophomore forward Kaetlyn Murdoch has also had a successful season averaging 14.1 points per game and 6.8 rebounds.
