by DENVER – Joe Rosga (St. Paul, Minn.) led the Pioneers with 17 points, including 12 in the second half, as the University of Denver men’s basketball team defeated Oral Roberts University 78-75 Wednesday night in the Pioneers’ Summit League home opener in Magness Arena.
Denver returns to the win column after four-straight losses, moving to 9-7 on the year and picking up its first Summit League win for a 1-2 record.
In addition to Rosga, three Pioneers reached double-digits. Nate Engesser (Colorado Springs, Colo.) tallied 15, Thomas Neff (Arvada, Colo.) chipped in 13 and Marcus Byrd (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) recorded 10.
Despite a late rally and a flurry of 3-pointers from ORU (8-9, 0-3), Denver held onto the lead for the entire second half. Aaron Young and Albert Owens led the Golden Eagles with 29 and 16 points, respectively. Young recorded eight 3-pointers, including six in the second half, while Owens added seven rebounds and four blocks.
“We’re stressing a defensive mentality,” head coach Joe Scott said. “We’re stressing rebounding, loose ball mentality, developing that kind of identity. And that’s it. We have to get better at those things. That’s got to be our mentality, we’ve got to take care of the ball on offense. Tonight, single-digit offensive rebounds for them, single-digit turnovers for us. I just thought we played a really good basketball game.”
With scoring at a premium in the final half as the Golden Eagles outscored the Crimson and Gold 49-48, Denver’s bench pitched in crucial second-half points. Christian Mackey (Navajo Nation) had eight points in seven minutes, including a career-high two 3-pointers. Duke Douglas (New Orleans, La.) also had a huge 3-pointer for the Pioneers in the second 20 minutes, his only basket of the night. C.J. Bobbitt (Harker Heights, Texas) and Jake Pemeberton (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) played well down the stretch, combining for 10 second half points after both players were scoreless in the first 20 minutes.
Both teams shot lights out in the game. Denver shot 50.0 percent (25-of-50), while Oral Roberts hit 53.3 percent (24-of-45). DU also hit 50.0 percent (10-of-20) from behind the 3-point arc, and ORU shot a staggering 63.2 percent (12-of-19).
Denver excelled from the free throw line, shooing 90.0 percent (18-of-20) in the game after Rosga hit the only two first-half free throws for the Pioneers.
The Crimson and Gold played stifling defense, forcing 20 turnovers by the Golden Eagles, with six Pioneers making a steal in the game. DU also picked up 15 defensive rebounds.
“I thought we really played well,” Scott continued. “We really needed our guys to get that win. We needed that result, and I’m glad for our guys that we got that result. We’ve got to do it again on Saturday. That’s what this young team has got to learn. We’ve got to do it again on Saturday.”
Mackey gave the Pioneers a spark early in the first half with five of Denver’s first 13 points, including his second 3-pointer of the season, helping the Pioneers to an eight-point lead at the second media timeout, 13-5. Neff and Rosga also pitched in with one 3-pointer and one assist apiece.
The Golden Eagles responded with a 12-3 run to gain a 17-16 lead, before Neff regained the lead for Denver on his second 3-pointer. DU and ORU traded the lead four more times before the end of the first half.
The Pioneers called a timeout following Neff’s career-high-tying third 3-pointer with 1:29 remaining, but that would be all for DU in the first half. Denver came out on top after 20 minutes, leading 30-26. Neff led the Pioneers with 11 points in the first half, just three shy of his career high, and shot 100 percent for the first half.
Denver shot 42.3 percent (11-of-26) from the floor, while ORU hit 45.5 percent (10-of-22). Both the Pioneers and Golden Eagles knocked down 50.0 percent from behind the arc in the first half, shooting 6-of-12 and 3-of-6, respectively.
DU’s defense also had a good first-half showing, forcing 14 ORU turnovers and earning four steals, including two by Neff.
