The Pioneers men’s basketball team defeated the Arkansas State Indians at home last Thursday, 59-52.
The win, propelled by freshman guard Kyle Lewis, has put the Pioneers in a tie for first place in the Sun Belt Conference. Lewis scored a game-high 19 points. Helping Lewis secure the win were sophomore forward Nate Rohnert, who went for 13 points, and senior center Adam Tanner who scored 12 points.
Freshman forward Rob Lewis went for four points, three rebounds, two assists and two blocks, while junior forward Joe Jackson scored seven points and had six rebounds.
“Playing with three freshmen and a sophomore out there a lot of the time is a tough thing to do, but being at home is easier to do,” said Head Coach Joe Scott.
DU was the first on the board with a successful layup by Lewis. Freshman guard Xander McNally followed up with another two-pointer, which put the Pioneers in the lead 4-0. The team jumped to an early lead 15-2, and ended the first half with two three-pointers by Lewis.
DU finished the first half leading the Indians 35-23, with 14 points scored by Lewis. Pioneers’ shots were successful 54.2 percent of the time, while the Indians fell short with 40 percent.
DU’s momentum faltered in the second half as DU gave up eight points to the Indians before the Pioneers answered with a six-point rally, with four points scored by Rohnert.
The game continued to seesaw as the Indians went for another run and put up 12 points. With 6:15 remaining in the game, the Indians had caught up with the Pioneers 44-43.
DU’s young guns battled to the end. Lewis made two more three-pointers and Tanner secured another three-pointer. The game ended with a series of fouls and successful free throws, which were spurred by a block by McNally. With 18 seconds remaining in the game, Tanner made two successful free throw shots.
The ball then went back to the Indians who came up with two successful free throw shots. With five seconds left in the game, another foul was called on the Indians, and Rob Lewis made both free throw shots. The game ended 59-52.
This was DU’s first game without senior forward David Kummer, who went down with a fractured right fibula in the team’s last game against the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Kummer was a significant part of DU’s lineup, having scored 19 points in the team’s last encounter with New Orleans and seven points in the game that ended his season.
“With David Kummer being out we now need leadership… but guys came together tonight and showed that we are re-building a program,” said Lewis after the game.
Now that DU is tied for first place in the SBC and Kummer is out for the season, the Pioneers head out on the road to battle Florida Atlantic which is 5-13 overall and 1-6 in the SBC on Thursday and South Alabama, which is 15-3 overall and 7-0 in the SBC on Sunday.
