Jan 3, 2002

Box Score

JONESBORO, Ark. - Jason Jennings scored a game-high 29 points and pulled down 13 rebounds to lead Arkansas State to a 78-58 win over the University of Denver in Sun Belt Conference action Thursday night at the ASU Convocation Center.

Denver (3-9, 0-2 SBC) was led in scoring by junior guard B.J. Pratt (San Antonio, Texas / Converse Judson HS), who had 12 points. Senior forward Sherman Rochell (Oklahoma City, Okla. / Northern Oklahoma College) added 10 points and eight rebounds for the Pioneers, who have lost five straight.

Jennings scored 18 of his 29 points in a first half that was back and forth for the first 11 minutes. Denver took an early 8-6 lead nearly five minutes into the game on a 3-pointer and a jumper from freshman forward Taylor Lay (Oklahoma City, Okla. / Southeast HS) and a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Ryan Goral (Westminster, Colo. / Horizon HS). The Pioneers held ASU (10-6, 1-0) without a field goal for 4:59, and the Indians turned around and kept the Pioneers from hitting the nets for another 5:01.

Freshman Erik Benzel (Spokane, Wash. / Ferris HS) ended that streak with a 3-pointer to pull Denver within 16-15, and the Pioneers took their final lead of the half with 8:53 left when Rochell sliced through the lane for a finger roll. Arkansas State then pounded the ball inside to Jennings, who had two baskets and three free throws over that stretch as the Indians converted a 23-7 run to take a 39-24 lead into the locker room. Poor shooting by the Pioneers contributed to the deficit, Denver hit just 9 of 34 field goals (26.5 percent) in the first half, compared to 13 of 28 shooting (46.4 percent) for ASU. For the game, Denver improved to 32.4 percent, but the woeful shooting numbers contributed to an opponent-season-best 50 rebounds for Arkansas State.

Jennings started the second half as strong as he finished the first, dunking the first entry feed he got. A Jon Beck 3-pointer with 18:11 left pushed the Indian advantage to 20 points at 46-26, and the Pioneers were able to only make up one point in the next six minutes, as sophomore Brett Starkey (Lakewood, Colo. / Green Mountain HS) converted a 3-point play to pull Denver to within 55-36.

The Pioneers weren't able to severely cut into Arkansas State's lead over the next four minutes, but they did turn the defensive pressure up considerably in that span. Denver forced three straight turnovers and converted them into five points, forcing two ASU timeouts as the Pioneers pulled to within 61-45 with 7:20 left. Yet Jennings scored on the next Indian possession, and a 3-point play would bump the margin again to 71-50 with 5:08 left.

"Arkansas State was good both inside and outside tonight," said head coach Terry Carroll. "We knew how talented (Jennings) he really is. We just got into foul trouble early on, and when you do that, you make it difficult on yourself. And when you shoot the ball as quickly as we did, and when you rely on only one or two passes before you shoot, you're going to be in for a long night."

The Pioneers conclude their road trip, and play the middle game of their three-game, five-day swing Saturday night with a 7 p.m. Sun Belt matchup with Arkansas-Little Rock.