by FORT MYERS, FLA. – The University of Denver men’s basketball team couldn’t overcome a poor first half on Sunday, falling 79-71 to Navy in the final day of the Homewood Suites FGCU Shootout in Alico Arena. The Pioneers dropped to 2-4 on the year while the Midshipmen improved to 5-3.
Joe Rosga was the lone bright spot for DU, nearly willing his team to a comeback win after scoring a career-high 33 points on the day. The St. Paul, Minn. native broke out of a shooting slump from beyond the arc, knocking down a season-high six 3s in the contest.
Elvin Rodriguez added 12 points off the bench and Christian Mackey (Navajo) pulled down a team high 6 rebounds and added 8 points for the Pioneers.
Bryce Dulin led Navy with a team-high 20 points.
The 22 points scored by the Crimson and Gold in the opening 20 minutes set a new season low and saw them only make three field goals in the half, none coming in the paint.
Navy opened with five straight points, forcing Denver to take an early timeout to regroup. Sloppy play resulted in turnovers allowing for the Midshipmen to get several more possessions in the first three minutes.
A 3 from Rosga with 9:14 remaining gave the Pioneers their first made shot of the contest putting them down 19-7 in the game.
Things didn’t get much better for DU after that, going into the half down 15.
Physicality played a big role in the first 20 minutes as Denver was held without a point in the paint and made just only three field goals in the half.
Second half wasn’t much better as the Pioneers struggled to generate any offense again for nearly the first 10 minutes of the period.
DU finally came to life after that, going on a scoring tear to work themselves back into it late, erasing a 25-point deficit to single digits with 1:39 to go after Rosga connected from the foul line. The junior erupted in the second half, pouring in 23 of his 33 during that span.
Navy would hold on to secure the victory after making its free throws near the end as Denver had to play the foul game.
Up Next
The Pioneers head home for a four-game stretch in Magness Arena. First up, a showdown with Wyoming on Wednesday. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. MT and can be seen on Altitude television.
