After winning two games on the road against Texas San Antonio and Texas State last week, the Pioneer men’s basketball team won two more at home this past weekend with a 72-55 win against Seattle and a 74-58 win to top Idaho.
The weekend’s performance extends the team to a four-game win streak. In addition to the streak, the team’s record improved to 15-8 overall and 11-2 in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).
On Thursday against Seattle, the Pioneers topped the school record of 18 steals by racking up 22 total steals that night. Senior Chase Hallam was also able to set the all-time DU Division-I steals record with eight steals in the game, in addition to the 10 points he earned for the squad.
“Our defense is good; we were turning them over,” said head coach Joe Scott. “We were getting some easy baskets out of that, but we weren’t playing that well offensively. We were just sluggish on the offense, but I think each time it got like that, our defense was very good at going after the ball and getting baskets off of turnovers, and that was the key to the game.”
Leading the team in scoring was junior Chris Udofia, who scored 23 points and set a career high with his third 3-pointer of the game. Following in points were freshman Jalen Love with 11 and sophomore guard Cam Griffin with nine, along with five assists and four steals.
“I feel like we played really good together as a team,” said Griffin. “Defensive wise, we got 22 steals, so I feel like we played a pretty complete game. I just played off my teammates; they did a great job allowing me to get in position to make plays. I’m just blessed to have them as teammates.”
In the contest against Idaho on Saturday, Love stepped up for the team, scoring a total of 22 points, followed by Udofia, who added 11 more. Sophomore Royce O’Neale added 12 points, as well as a team-high of six rebounds during the game. Scott said the team improved on all aspects of the game compared to the performance against Seattle just days prior.
“On Thursday, we were sluggish, but tonight, our guys were firing on all cylinders,” said Scott. “Our offense executed very well in the half court. We need to keep doing what we’re doing.”
The Pioneers had led the Vandals in shot percentage with 56.9 percent, compared to Idaho’s 47.9 percent. The team ended the first half leading 36-14, and during the second half, the lead was stretched to as many as 30 points.
According to the team, they are looking to continue to do well on defense, as they have, and sharpen up their offense.
“Offensively, we just need to be more in sync, and defensively, just continuing to attack the ball, get turnovers and take those easy points,” said Griffin.
The team will hit the road again this week when they take on Utah State on Thursday and San Jose State on Saturday. Utah State is just below Denver on the WAC rankings board with a 17-5 overall record and an 8-4 WAC record. San Jose holds a 9-14 overall record and a 3-9 WAC record.
Utah State recently beat San Jose State 63-36 in their last meeting. Standing out for Utah State was junior Spencer Butterfield, who got his fifth double-double in that game. Utah State was also able to get a 16-0 run in the first half of the contest.
Utah picked up its third consecutive win that night, while San Jose State dropped their losing streak to eight consecutive games. Denver can compare their shooting percentage of 55.6 percent in their last game to Utah’s 51.9 percent and San Jose’s 26.5 percent.
The Pioneers are looking to continue their winning streak as they take to the road, according to Griffin.
