Feb. 8, 2003

Box Score

DENVER - The University of Denver men's basketball team dropped its sixth straight overall and the third on its own campus, as they lost to Sun Belt rival Middle Tennessee 80-68 Saturday night at Magness Arena. The loss drops Denver to 12-12 overall and 4-6 in SBC play, while Middle improves to 12-11, 7-3.

Denver was hindered by a lackluster 32 percent (20-of-62) shooting night, while the visiting Raiders were 48 percent (25-of-50) from the field, and a lethal 43 percent (7-of-16) from beyond the arc. Sophomore guard Erik Benzel (Spokane, Wash.) led the Pioneers with 16 points. Senior captain B.J. Pratt (San Antonio, Texas) added 14 points to the cause.

Junior guard Tommy Gunn was a flawless 11-11 from the free-throw line, and led the Blue Raiders with a game-high 22 points, while accounting for five of Middle Tennessee's 14 assists on the night. The Pioneers never held a lead during the game, and at one point trailed by as many as 20 in a loss which will drop Denver to fifth in the Sun Belt West.

"This was not a very good game for us," assistant coach Matt Woodley said. "It all boils down to effort and tonight we just did not give our best. Hopefully we can learn and recover for tonight's game and come out Tuesday with some intensity."

The Pioneers opened sluggishly, as Middle Tennessee guard John Humphrey hit a pair of early long balls to give the Blue Raiders an early 10-4 advantage at the 15:00 mark. The Raiders would increase the advantage to 10, but four Middle Tennessee turnovers in the next four minutes would open the door for the Pioneers, who cut the lead to six with a pair of free throws from senior guard Leslie Richardson (Aurora, Colo.). Middle Tennessee rallied back, stealing the momentum from the Pioneers and regaining an eight-point advantage with just under 8:00 left. Despite committing eight fouls in the game's first 13:00, Denver found itself unable to convert, shooting just over 21 percent (6-of-28) from the field, including 0-8 from beyond the arc.

The teams traded blows as the first half wound down with Denver pulling the Raider lead back to within nine. Each time Middle Tennessee would find an answer, however, and the Blue Raider lead never dropped below nine for the remaining of the half. A John Humphrey three with 2:11 remaining in the first expanded the Middle Tennessee lead to 14, and two made free throws resulting from an ensuing technical foul called on Pioneer coach Terry Carroll upped the margin to 16. The Raiders would score the half's final basket to take a 38-20 halftime lead.

Each team opened play in the second half with the intention of running the other into the ground. Both traded blows nearly every time down the floor, totaling 21 points between the two in the half's opening five minutes. Tempo in the game began to slow itself following the half's first media timeout. Following a scoreless two minutes Pratt laid it in to bring the Pioneers back within 14 (36-50). The Pioneers began to rally back nearing the half's midway point. Led by a layup from Benzel the Pioneers were able to cut the Raider advantage to 12 with 10:52 remaining. Denver's drive seemed to peak soon thereafter, however, and four made free throws from junior Carvell McAlister (Fresno, Calif.) and Pratt cut the lead to 10 points. Four Raider fouls over the next six minutes allowed the Pioneers to stay in the game, trailing by eleven with just over 6:00 to go.

A key three pointer from Pratt at the 4:22 mark brought the lead to within 10 once again, but was quickly answered by a converted three point play from junior forward Steven Jackson to give Middle Tennessee a 49-62 lead with 3:00 remaining. Down by double-figures with less than two minutes remaining, the Pioneers were forced to begin fouling to prevent Middle Tennessee from running out the clock. The Raiders proceeded to convert on less than half of their remaining free throws, all while the Pioneers posted seven points in less than a minute, concluded by a three pointer from Benzel that brought the score to within seven with 1:12 remaining. Ultimately, the Blue Raider lead was simply too large. A pair of free tosses from junior Keith Connor gave Middle Tennessee a 13 point lead with 44 second remaining, and effectively sealed the team's fourth consecutive win.

Junior center Brett Starkey (Lakewood, Colo.) contributed 11 points and junior forward Ziggy Zupic (Sinj, Croatia) had his first career double-double with 11 points and a career-high 12 rebounds.

Denver returns to action on Tuesday, February 11 when the Pioneers travel to Louisiana to battle conference foe and West Division Rival Louisiana-Lafayette. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. MT.