Denver Falls 72-57 at UNC
Hooper scored 14 points and Stafford added 11
GREELEY, Colo. – The University of Denver men’s basketball team fell 72-57 to Northern Colorado on Monday night at Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion.
Junior Andrew Hooper (Lakewood, Colo.) scored a team-high 14 points with a 4-for-6 performance from beyond the three-point line, while sophomore guard Brian Stafford (Walnut Creek, Calif.) had 11 points.
“I thought we showed great resiliency to make it a game,” head coach Joe Scott said. “It takes a certain level of experience to beat a good team on the road, and Northern Colorado is a good team. We need to keep working to improve.”
Denver (9-4, 2-0 SBC) led most of the first half, shooting 56.5 percent (13-for-23) from the field and 7-of-10 from three-point range, but the Bears (11-3) stormed back to finish the half on a 12-5 run and led 38-33 at the break.
The Bears built their lead to 10 points with 14:41 remaining, but a backdoor layup by junior forward Rob Lewis (Colorado Springs, Colo.), a three-pointer by Stafford and a layup by senior guard Nate Rohnert (Parker, Colo.) cut the deficit to 51-48 with 9:05 left in the game. UNC responded with eight-straight points.
UNC’s Devon Beitzel led all scorers with 19 points, and Will Figures added 15 points. Northern Colorado’s win marks their ninth-straight at home and gives the Bears their best start since 1966-67, when the team opened the season 17-2.
The Pioneers return to Magness Arena to face Sun Belt Conference foe Arkansas State on Thurs., Dec. 31 at 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN AM 1600.
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