Jan. 10, 2004

Box Score

DENVER - The University of Denver men's basketball team fell to Louisiana-Lafayette 83-81, and ended its four-game winning streak in its conference-opener on Sat., Jan. 10, in Hamilton Gymnasium. Seniors Brett Starkey (Lakewood, Colo.) and forward Zeljko Zupic (Sinj, Croatia) each recorded their fourth double-double of the season, with Zupic tallying a career-high tying 21 points and 12 rebounds and Starkey adding 15 points and 10 rebounds. Denver falls to 8-5, 0-1, while ULL improves to 6-4, 1-0.

"It's really hard to lose when you are in a position to win a huge basketball game," head coach Terry Carroll said. "After not playing well in the first half, we came out in the second half with more intensity and got back into the flow of how we wanted to play. Lafayette made big baskets, rebounds and free throws. They made big plays and we didn't."

The teams went basket-for-basket in the first half, creating 11 lead changes for both sides. ULL started to pull away but junior guard Erik Benzel (Spokane, Wash.) sparked the Pioneers on a 7-0 run to take the lead 19-16, with 10:01 remaining in the half. The Cajuns' Brian Hamilton answered the Pioneers' offensive attack and took the lead 21-19, with 9:19 left in the stanza. Hamilton extended ULL's lead by taking the team on a 6-0 run to regain the lead 27-23, with 5:56 left. Zupic put Denver back in the game with a 3-point play that had the Pioneers trailing, 28-27.

ULL capitalized on Denver's 12 turnovers in the first half to take the lead. Baskets by Hamilton and Brad Boyd in the final two minutes of the first half put the Cajuns up 41-33, their biggest lead of the half, heading into the second half. Both teams shot well from the field, Denver boasting 45 percent and ULL netting 55 percent.

Denver started the second half with an impressive 19-2 run. Zupic and Benzel each added six points in the run. Zupic added a layup with 10:12 remaining in the half to give the Pioneers' their biggest lead of the game, 62-52. ULL's Antoine Landry gave the Cajuns six points to cut Denver's lead to four, but a 3-pointer from Benzel gave the Pioneers a 72-65 lead with 5:27 remaining in the game. A pair of free throws from Starkey and senior forward Carvell McAlister (Fresno, Calif.) extended Denver's lead to nine, with the Pioneers leading 78-69 with 3:19 remaining.

ULL responded on offense and went on a 9-2 run to cut Denver's lead to two with 41.2 seconds left in the game. A free throw by McAlister increased the Pioneers' lead to three, but ULL's Landry responded with a 3-pointer of his own to tie the score at 81-81 with 7.8 seconds remaining. A Denver turnover created the last scoring chance for the Cajuns and Landry dribbled down the court and made the winning basket, securing the 83-81 win for ULL.

Four of Denver's five starters scored in double-figures, led by Zupic's 21 points. Benzel added 16, Starkey had 15, and McAlister netted 14. Brad Boyd, Antoine Landry and Brian Hamilton each added 18 points for the Cajuns. ULL shot 55 percent from the field, compared to the Pioneers' 45 percent. Denver also committed 20 turnovers. Denver won the rebound battle, (40-31), including 12 from Zupic. Three Cajuns pulled down five boards for ULL.

The Pioneers will continue conference play when they travel to Denton, Texas, on Thursday, Jan. 15, to face North Texas at 6 p.m. MT.