Feb. 11, 2003

Final Stats

LOUISIANA, La. - Junior center Brett Starkey (Lakewood, Colo.) scored 20 points and sophomore guard Erik Benzel (Spokane, Wash) added 17 but it was not enough as the University of Denver men's basketball team fell to Louisiana-Lafayette 72-69 in overtime in Sun Belt Conference (SBC) play Tuesday night in the Cajundome.

Denver's seventh consecutive loss drops the Pioneers to 12-13 overall and 4-7 in the SBC, while Louisiana-Lafayette improves to 17-6 overall and 9-1 in SBC play.

"Its really disappointing to put that much effort on the floor and come up short," said head coach Terry Carroll. "I told the team that this is the squad that needs to show up every night."

Both teams struggled to find a rhythm early with the Ragin' Cajuns holding a 6-2 lead four minutes into the contest. A layup by Starkey gave Denver its second lead of the night at 16-15 with 11:44 remaining in the first half.

Both teams traded blows over the next four minutes with senior guard Leslie Richardson's (Aurora, Colo.) driving-layup making the score 23-22 Lafayette at the 7:17 mark of the first frame. Another Starkey layup with 3:52 remaining kept Denver within three at 30-27 after ULL opened its biggest first half lead (six). The Pioneers closed the half strong and a free-throw line jumper by junior Carvell McAlister (Fresno, Calif.) put Denver up 36-35 at the break.

Denver weathered the early second half storm and closed an early five-point deficit to one (41-40) with a 18-foot jump shot by Benzel four minutes into the half. The Ragin' Cajuns began to assert themselves but an old-fashioned three point play by Starkey closed the gap to six (49-43) with 11:41 left. Lafayette battled back and made the score 59-47 at the 7:52 mark.

Senior captain B.J. Pratt (San Antonio, Texas) hit two free throws cutting ULL's 10 point lead to four (59-55) with 3:49 remaining. Pratt struck again, hitting a three, giving Denver its first lead of the half with 41 seconds left. Lafayette's Michael Southall hit two free throws tying the score at 61 with just 35 seconds remaining. Junior forward Ziggy Zupic (Sinj, Croatia) had a three-point look from the right corner, but it came up short sending the game into overtime.

The Ragin' Cajuns opened up a five point lead twice during the extra session, but six straight points from Benzel gave the Pioneers a one point lead (69-68) with just 1:19 left. ULL regained the lead when a McAlister jump shot with four seconds remaining was blocked.

Laurie Bridges, Cedric Williams, Brad Boyd and Southall were all in double figures for Lafayette. Pratt contributed 14 points to the Pioneer cause.