Dec. 13, 2004

Box Score

DENVER - Senior guard Rodney Billups (Denver, Colo.) tallied 18 points and sophomore center Yemi Nicholson (Denver, Colo.) had a career-high seven blocks, but it was not enough as the University of Denver men's basketball team lost a heartbreaking game to Stanford University, 56-52, in front of a record-breaking crowd of 6,535 this evening in Magness Arena. Denver's third annual PACK THE HOUSE game included a visit from the 2004 NBA Finals Most Valuable Player, Chauncey Billups. The Pioneers are now 4-1 at home this season, bringing their overall record to 4-3, while the Cardinal improves to 3-4.

The Pioneers got off to a sluggish start to begin the first half. Stanford dominated on offense, pulling ahead 12-5, just over four minutes into the game. Standford's Chris Hernandez added two buckets to put the Cardinal up 19-9, before the Pioneers began their offensive push. Junior guard Andrew Carpenter (Toronto, Ontario) hit two key buckets to bring Denver within nine points, 23-14, with 6:46 remaining in the half. The Pioneers stepped up their defense, led by Nicholson's five blocks. A dunk by Nicholson put Denver back in the game and a basket by Billups off a feed from Carpenter evened the score at 25-25, with 54 seconds remaining. The Cardinal's Dan Grunfeld made a pair of free throws to leave the Pioneers trailing 27-25 at the half.

The Pioneers were 43.5 percent from the field (10-of-23), compared to Stanford's 38.7 percent (12-of-31). Billups and Carpenter each added nine points in the first stanza. Denver's defense also caused six steals and forced eight blocks in the first half.

Free throws by sophomore forward Antonio Porch (Denver, Colo.) and Carpenter evened the score at 29-29 to begin the second half. Stanford's Hernandez hit a long-range bucket, but junior guard Brett Seger (Omaha, Neb.) answered with one of his own and Billups added another to put the score at 35-35, with 14:03 left in the game. A huge dunk by Nicholson, followed by a strong layup gave the Pioneers their second lead of the game, 41-40, with 10:24 left.

After three lead changes in fewer than two minutes, Stanford managed to sink three consecutive buckets to pull ahead 48-43, with 5:50 left on the clock, but Denver never gave up. A jumper by Carpenter, followed by a 3-pointer from Billups put the Pioneers ahead 50-49, with under two minutes to play. The Cardinal's Hernandez made two free throws to put Stanford ahead again, 51-50, with just over a minute to play. Denver saw a glimmer of hope when Stanford's Jason Haas stepped out of bounds with 31 seconds remaining, but the Cardinal retaliated by sinking three free throws. Senior guard Erik Benzel (Spokane, Wash.) made two free throws with two seconds remaining, but Hernandez made a pair of his own to steal a 56-52 victory for the Cardinal.

Denver shot 42.6 percent (20-of-47) from the field while Stanford only managed 37 percent (20-of-54). Billups led all scorers with 18 points. Carpenter added 13 and Nicholson and Seger added eight apiece. Nicholson had a career-high seven blocks, while setting a new record in Magness Arena.

"We gave it everything," said head coach Terry Carroll. "We didn't rebound well. We didn't show up at the start of the game and we got back in it, only to give them two rebounds at the end. I felt like we had a chance to win."

The Pioneers begin a five-game road schedule on Dec. 18, when they travel to the West Coast to face Eastern Washington at 8 p.m., and Cal State Fullerton on Dec. 23, at 8 p.m.