The University of Denver men’s basketball team finished the regular season with two losses on the road this past weekend. Last Sunday, the Pioneers were defeated by Louisiana-Lafayette 58-51 and last Thursday lost to Arkansas-Little Rock 66-55.
Freshman forward Rob Lewis went for 16 points and had nine boards. Junior guard Joe Jackson, with only 14 minutes, put 10 points on the board for the Pioneers. Jackson was the team’s second highest scorer in the game.
“We put ourselves in a great position to win, but turnovers in the final four minutes cost us the game,” said Head Coach Joe Scott. “We have our staples, and we are getting better at them. That’s what it takes to win, especially on the road, but we need to maintain those staples for 40 minutes.”
Denver finished the first half, leading 28-27. Rob Lewis extended the lead in the second half with two baskets. The Cajuns, however, responded with an 11-0 run that propelled them to a six-point lead.
A successful reverse layup from Jackson tied the game 49-49 at 5:42. The Pioneers added only one more jumper after that.
In the last 23 seconds of the game, the Cajuns made three free throws to lock the win.
During Thursday’s loss to Arkansas-Little Rock, senior center Adam Tanner went for 20 points and freshman guard Xander McNally grabbed six rebounds.
“Tanner was very good tonight,” said Coach Scott after Thursday’s game. “I hope the way he’s been playing shows the younger guys the way you need to play.”
Freshman guard Nigel Peter-Denman was DU’s second highest scorer with 14 points, while Rob Lewis secured 10 for the team.
The Trojans’ largest lead was 21 points in the second half at 11:32 left in the contest. Peter-Denman broke the 15-2 Trojan run with two three-pointers, propelling a 10-0 Pioneer run to decrease the Trojans’ lead to 53-42.
With only one minute left in the contest, DU went for a 8-2 run including a three-pointer by McNally. The Pioneers were able to pull within six, but the Trojans secured the game with five free throws.
“I liked the way we played the final 10 minutes of the game, but we need to play that way the entire 40 minutes, especially on the road,” said Coach Scott after Thursday’s game. “The home team shoots better and plays harder because they’re at home, and that’s what happened tonight. UALR played well, and they won the game on the boards.”
The home team doesn’t always shoot better and play harder because they’re at home. If this logic were true, the Pioneers wouldn’t have lost their last two home games of the regular season. There are other reasons besides the simple fact that it was a Trojan home game.
This Wednesday, the Pioneers will face New Orleans in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament at 6 p.m. MT.
