Jan. 11, 2003

Box Score

DENTON, Texas - A resilient University of Denver men's basketball team overcame a 27 percent shooting performance and defeated Sun Belt Conference foe North Texas, 59-55, Saturday afternoon in Denton, Texas. The Pioneers' second consecutive conference road win improves their record to 10-6 overall and 2-0 in the SBC. North Texas falls to 6-8, 0-2 on the year.

Senior captain B.J. Pratt (San Antonio, Texas) led Denver with 14 points. Junior forward Carvell McAlister (Fresno, Calif.) had his second straight double-figure outing, adding 10 points and five rebounds. Junior center Brett Starkey (Lakewood, Colo.) continued his dominate post play contributing nine points and a season-high 16 rebounds.

"It was a total team effort," head coach Terry Carroll said. "Our shots did not fall on the offensive end of the floor, but our defensive intensity and ability to rebound the ball allowed us to hold on for the victory."

It was not a dazzling start for the Pioneers, but two three-pointers by Pratt in the first four minutes gave Denver enough points to say tied with the Mean Green at 6-6 just 4:26 into the game. Both teams continued to struggle on the offensive end of the court as the Pioneers opened up a 12-9 lead at the 11:44 mark. Denver was extremely cold, unlike Thursday night when the Pioneers shot the ball extremely well.

Their defensive intensity allowed Denver to keep its lead at 19-17 with 5:55 left in the half. Denver heated up just a little bit and was able to increase its lead to five (26-21) with just 2:20 to play in the first half. During the last two minutes of the half, the Pioneers finally got hot and finished the half on a 9-1 run to up their lead to 11, 34-23.

The start of the second half was not the one that head coach Terry Carroll was looking for. UNT used three Pioneer turnovers on their first three possessions to close within six at 41-35 with 13:46 left to play in the game. The momentum was going the way of the Mean Green, as they sliced into Denver's lead a little more (41-37) with 11:59 remaining.

The Pioneers weathered another Mean Green storm keeping them at bay with a 46-42 lead with 7:33 left in the contest. North Texas was finally able to overcome Denver and take their first lead at 49-46. The Pioneers responded by retaking the fort and going back in front by two, 55-52 with just 1:50 remaining in the game. Senior point guard Dusty Wadlington (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) made two free throws with eight seconds remain to ice the victory.

The Pioneers return home on Thursday, January 16, to play host to conference rival Arkansas State. Game time is set for 7 p.m. MST in Hamilton Gymnasium and can be heard live over the internet at DenverPioneers.com.