Jan. 13, 2002

Box Score

DENVER - Sophomore forward Brett Starkey (Lakewood, Colo. / Green Mountain HS) poured in a career-high 17 points and added eight rebounds to lead the University of Denver to its first conference win of the season, a 72-69 decision over Florida International at Magness Arena Sunday afternoon.

Freshman guard Erik Benzel (Spokane, Wash. / Ferris HS) drew a key charge - one of four on the afternoon for the Pioneers (5-10, 1-3 Sun Belt) - with 30 seconds left and Denver up 69-67. After a Denver timeout, sophomore Ryan Goral (Westminster, Colo. / Horizon HS) was fouled and hit two game-winning free throws with 28 seconds left to seal the win.

Senior forward Sherman Rochell (Oklahoma City, Okla. / Northern Oklahoma College) and junior guard B.J. Pratt (San Antonio, Texas / Converse Judson HS) each added 16 points for the Pioneers. Benzel had a game-high six assists.

Taurance Johnson led all scorers with 23 points.

The win was the first in four tries for Denver against FIU (8-11, 2-3), and capped the biggest comeback win of the season for the Pioneers. The Golden Panthers took a staggering 17-4 lead on the strength of 7-of-8 shooting from the field and four Denver turnovers in the first 7:28. Yet toward the end of the first half, the Pioneers went on a 15-3 run - capped by a Starkey layup with 3:02 left in the half - over a 7:53 stretch to take their first lead of the game. The teams then traded baskets, and FIU took a 32-31 lead into the locker room. Sunday's game marked Denver's first win of the season when trailing at the half.

In the second half, the Pioneers pounded the ball inside to Starkey, who had 13 points and all eight rebounds in the final 20 minutes. He was also 7-of-10 from the line, leading a Pioneer corps that outscored the Golden Panthers 14-9 at the free-throw line.

"We didn't come at (FIU) with any emotion or intensity. I thought the team definitely picked up the intensity later in the first half, which created a lot of opportunities for us," said head coach Terry Carroll. "The team played really smart the last 55 seconds of the game. Brett Starkey has been working extremely hard in practice, and that's finally carrying over into the games. People made some nice passes to him today. B.J. Pratt stepped up defensively and took some nice charges, and had good pressure on the ball."

The Pioneers continue their four-game homestand with a Sun Belt Conference matchup against North Texas Thursday night. The two teams will tip off at 7 p.m. at Magness Arena.