Game #11: Denver (7-3, 1-0 SBC) vs. Louisiana-Monroe (3-7, 0-1 SBC)
Saturday, December 19, 2009 • 4 p.m. MT
Magness Arena (7,200) • Denver, Colo.
TV: None • Radio: AM 950 • Web: www.DenverPioneers.com (Video and Audio)
About Denver: The Pioneers enter Thursday’s game following a 59-53 victory over Florida International in Denver’s Sun Belt Conference opener. DU has won seven of the past nine games. Denver returns nine players, including all five starters, and 98 percent of its scoring and rebounding from last year. DU was picked second in the Sun Belt West Division in the annual coaches’ preseason poll, and senior captain and guard Nate Rohnert was named to the Preseason All-SBC First Team.
About Louisiana-Monroe: The Warhawks have their last five games and are concluding a four-game road trip in Denver on Saturday. ULM fell 95-84 at Northern Colorado on Wednesday after dropping their first SBC game to North Texas on Dec. 13. ULM was predicted to finish fifth in the SBC West Division in the Preseason Coaches’ Poll. Fifth year head coach Orlando Early returns all five starters from last year’s squad, plus 2007-08 All-SBC third team selection Tony Hooper, who returns as a Preseason All-SBC third team member after missing most of last season with a broken foot. The Warhawks finished 10th in the Sun Belt last year, ending their season with a 66-57 loss to the Pioneers in the First Round of the Sun Belt Tournament at Magness Arena. Malcolm Thomas, who also was voted Preseason All-SBC third team, is not expected to suit up against Denver. Lawrence Gilbert leads the Warhawks with 12.5 points per game, just ahead of Hooper’s 12.0 points per game. Coming off the bench, Tommie Sykes leads ULM with 5.4 rebounds per game.
The Match-up: The Pioneers lead the all-time series 6-4 and have not lost to the Warhawks in any of their five meetings in Denver. DU swept three match ups with ULM last season.
Magness Magic: The Pioneers have won six-straight at home, following a season opening loss to Missouri Valley favorite Northern Iowa. Since Joe Scott took over as head coach prior to the 2007-08 season, the Pioneers are 26-7 (.788) at Magness Arena.
Shooting Stars: Denver is fourth in the nation with a 51.6 field goal percentage. Only No. 5 Syracuse (55.2 percent), No. 18 Ohio State (52.3) and No. 2 Texas (51.8) have a higher percentage from the floor. The Pioneers rank just ahead of St. Bonaventure (51.5), No. 1 Kansas (51.2) and No. 10 North Carolina (51.0). The Pioneers also moved up to eighth in the nation with a 42.9 three-point field goal percentage, following Thursday’s 11-for-22 performance from beyond the arc. Although no DU player qualifies for the minimum in either NCAA individual category, Tyler Thalken (66.7), Travis Hallam (66.7), Sabatino Chen (61.1), Chase Hallam (58.3), Rob Lewis (56.8), Nate Rohnert (53.8) and Andrew Hooper (50.0) all are shooting better than 50 percent from the floor.
More Shooting Stars: The Pioneers shot 50.0 percent from both the field (19-of-38) and three-point range (11-of-22) against FIU on Thursday. It marked the fifth time this year that DU had done so. The Pioneers were also 90.9 percent (10-of-11) from the free throw line, their first time performance above 90 percent since going a perfect 11-of-11 on Feb. 26, 2009 on the road against Louisiana-Monroe, DU’s opponent on Saturday.
O Captain! My Captain!: Nate Rohnert’s next point will be No. 1,000 in his career. The senior captain is seventh on DU’s all-time career list with 283 assists and sits 18 shy of sixth place. Rohnert also has 286 career free throw made, ninth on DU’s all-time list and eight shy of Dick Brott for seventh, and he is 10th with 403 free throw attempts. The Parker, Colo., native has career totals of 412 rebounds and 99 steals in 98 games at Denver.
Be the Three: Junior forward Andrew Hooper hit his 81st career three- pointer on Thursday, leaving him just one shy of 10th place on DU’s all-time list. However, teammates Brian Stafford and Kyle Lewis are right on Hooper’s heels with 78 and 75 career three-pointers, respectively.
Rocky Mountain Way: Eight of Denver’s 15 players hail from Colorado: Sabatino Chen (Louisville), Tom Chott (Littleton), Justin Coughlin (Yuma), Andrew Hooper (Lakewood), Kyle Lewis (Denver), Rob Lewis (Colorado Springs), Trevor Noonan (Broomfield) and Nate Rohnert (Parker).
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