DU Pioneers Fall 67-61 at Florida Atlantic

Brian Stafford scores a team-high 17 points for Denver

BOCA RATON, Fla. – Freshman guard Brian Stafford (Walnut Hills, Calif.) had 17 points, but the University of Denver men’s basketball fell 67-61 to Florida Atlantic at FAU Arena on Thursday night.

Denver (10-14, 5-8 SBC) also got 15 points and five rebounds from junior guard Nate Rohnert (Parker, Colo.), while sophomore Rob Lewis (Colorado Springs, Colo.) had 10 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Redshirt freshman Andrew Hooper (Lakewood, Colo.) chipped in 13 points.

FAU (6-20, 2-12 SBC) was led by Paul Graham’s 25 points. The Owls went 18-for-20 from the free throw line in the game.

FAU started off quickly, as Paul Graham scored 14 points in the first four minutes of the game to give the Owls an eight-point advantage. However, Stafford sparked a comeback with a pair of three-pointers, as DU went on a 13-2 run to put the Pioneers on top 19-16 with 11:48 remaining.

The Owls used a 14-6 run in the final six minutes of the half to take a 40-32 lead into the break. Denver shot 44 percent (11-fo-25) from the field and 53.3 percent (8-of-15) from beyond the arc in the first half, while FAU was 14-of-28 (50 percent) from the field and 4-of-10 (40 percent) from three-point range.

The Pioneers stormed back to open the second half, ripping off an 11-0 run to take a 43-42 lead with 13:42 remaining in the contest. FAU responded a few minutes later with 11 straight points to stretch the lead back to 55-45 with 8:50 left.

The Pioneers return home to take on New Orleans at Magness Arena on Saturday at 4 p.m. MT.