Photo by: Michael Furman
In his final home game as a Pioneer, senior Nate Rohnert scored 11 points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds, leading the Pioneers (17-12, 10-8 SBC) to a 63-47 win over Louisiana Lafayette.
Rohnert, the team captain, has focused listening and leading by example.
“Coach (head coach Joe Scott) has always said leadership is about doing what the coaches tell you to do,” said Rohnert. “Down the final stretch all I have wanted to do is run our offense, play good defense, rebound and lead by example.”
Rohnert’s sentiment for finishing his career at DU is being overshadowed by the team’s preparation the Sun Belt Conference tournament.
With last weekend’s win, the Pioneers clinched No. 6 in the tournament and will play No. 11-seed Florida International at 7:45 p.m. on Saturday.
Last season, the Pioneers won their opening game at home against Louisiana Monroe, but fell in the quarterfinals, 58-55, to Arkansas-Little Rock at the neutral site of Hot Springs, Ark.
This year, the Pioneers will not have the benefit of playing the first game in Magness Arena, where they finished the season with a 15-1 home record.
“I have told our players it doesn’t matter who we play or where we play, home, road or neutral,” said head coach Joe Scott. “It’s just about us playing well and doing the things we work on in practice and making sure there is a transference from practice to the games.”
Although Scott insists Hot Springs is neutral, the Pioneers must still travel, which has not resulted well for them this season. DU is 2-11 in games away from Magness Arena.
However the Pioneers do enter the SBC tournament with a little momentum, two weeks ago they got their first conference road win when they defeated New Orleans, 53-45.
“The New Orleans win was big for us, to break through on the road was huge,” said Rohnert. “It gave us a confidence boost heading into the conference tournament.”
Despite suffering a road loss to South Alabama last Thursday, the Pioneers have been playing consistently in the final weeks of the season.
The Pioneers lost their last road game when Jaguar-guard Tim Williams made a game winning shot with six seconds left.
“We have stressed how important it is to be playing our best basketball in February and to have that carry into March,” said Scott. “We have seen a great deal of improvement in practice, which we have seen carry into games.”
Improvement is a word that can summarize the Pioneers this season as they have more conference wins and more total wins then they finished with last year.
“What I am taking stock in right now is how we are competing and how tough we are playing,” said Scott. “We have more wins than last year, but that doesn’t mean anything when I judge our season.”
Scott said that the way he feels about a season overall depends on the final games.
Now that the regular season has ended, the Pioneers have an opportunity to improve on the results of last post season.
“It is how you play at the end of the season, which determines how you ultimately feel about a season,” said Scott. “Our guys are on the right course, we have been playing the best since I have been here and we need to continue playing physically tough, it’s relying on ourselves and nobody else.”
As No. 11 FIU poses a limited challenge to the Pioneers, because DU beat the Panthers 59-53 in December.
If the team can get by its first round challenge they will play No. 3 seed Middle Tennessee, who beat the Pioneers 57-50 nearly a month ago.
“I’m excited for the challenge,” said Rohnert. “I feel good about our team and I like our chances going into the tournament.”
As the guard prepares for his final games, Scott feels that his presence has allowed the team to become closer to understanding the importance of playing physical and team basketball.
“Nate has grown with the program, he truly understand that good is being great in all the little areas that make your team successful and we need that from our leaders,” said Scott. “He is playing his best basketball, because he is doing the things that make this team win, which is more than just scoring baskets.”
With 1,261 career points, Rohnert is ninth on DU’s all-time scoring list.
