Photo by: Andrew Fielding

The DU men’s basketball team dominated Florida Atlantic on their way to the biggest win of the season, topping the Sun Belt Conference’s best team and handing the Owls their first road loss in conference play.

The Pioneers jumped out to a 34-21 lead at the half. They never let down, thrashing FAU in the second half to finish off a 69-42 victory.

“This was a big game for us,” head coach Joe Scott said. “This was probably the best we’ve played all year, and I’m really proud of our guys. FAU came into this game undefeated on the road (in conference play), and it really says something about our team to be the first ones to beat them.”

With the win, the Pioneers advance to 8-3 in conference play and 12-12 overall and play Troy on the road tomorrow, where they look to extend their lead in the West Division to two games.

After suffering two road losses last week in Arkansas, the team returned to form at home, where they are undefeated this season in conference play.

The crucial difference in the game was DU’s ability to share the basketball and FAU’s inability to distribute the ball, resulting in a lopsided 17-5 assist advantage for the Pioneers.

“Last week was rough for us,” said sophomore guard Chase Hallam. “On the road we weren’t passing the ball, and that was definitely the difference tonight. We came out and played well at home; we distributed the ball and didn’t force the ball too much and when we got open shots we knocked them down. Coming back from two losses and now being the best team in conference is big time for us and certainly gives us confidence going forward.”

Hallam led all scorers with 18 points, but DU saw a well-balanced offensive attack carry them to victory.  Chase’s brother Travis finished with 12 points in the victory as junior guard Brian Stafford recorded 15 points, capping off a near perfect night for the trio of Denver guards.

“Those guys [Chase, Travis, Brian] were challenged by me and the staff and they responded,” said Scott. “They have to be consistent for us and they have been. When we started out slow, I think they took ownership of executing our game plan as well as playing great on the defensive end.”

The Pioneers started the game slow, giving the Owls four easy baskets under the hoop, however they shored up their interior defense thanks to both Hallams who were forced to play down low.

DU won the critical turnover battle forcing FAU (18-7, 10-2) to give the ball away 12 times, while also beating their opponent on the offensive glass, something Scott cites as a crucial part of the team’s success.

“[Offensive rebounding] was huge for us tonight,” said Scott. “Rebounding for us usually means defensive rebounding, so grabbing boards on the offensive end is always huge, because it creates longer possessions and extends our time with the ball.”

As for defense, the Pioneers shut down one of the best offenses in the SBC, limiting the Owls to 21 points in each half and harassing them into shooting 15 of 39 from the field.

“When we execute on defense it shows up on the offensive end,” said Scott. “We must always keep our focus on that end of the court.”

Free throw shooting hindered FAU’s chances of rallying back as the Owls shot a porous 11 of 25 from the charity stripe.

In addition to stout performances from the Hallams and Stafford, the Pioneers got a lot of help from starting forward Justin Coughlin, who rose to the occasion following four early fouls from freshman Chris Udofia.

Coughlin finished the night with 13 points, 7 rebounds and a clutch block late in the first half.

“Justin responded,” said Scott. “I asked him to go knock a few balls loose and help us regain possession on offense, and he did that very well in a tough spot with Chris being out.”

Overall, the Pioneers handled adversity well, responding to five early second half fouls, which displayed tremendous poise on the part of the team, according to Scott.

“It’s still so early for us,” said Scott. “There is a lot of basketball left to be played, and we have to continue to play our style of basketball from here on out. Tonight showed that when we play our style we can do a lot of things well. I made it clear to my players that this was a good team, and that was pretty obvious, but I just think all our guys responded to the challenge and we needed to do that.”