Box Score Dec. 23, 2004
Final Stats
FULLERTON, Calif. - Sophomore forward Antonio Porch (Denver, Colo.) scored a career-high 30 points, but it was not enough at the Denver Pioneers dropped a 102-92 decision at Cal State Fullerton on Thursday night in Titan Gymnasium. Denver falls to 5-4 as the Titans improve to 4-3. The Pioneers are 5-4 for the third consecutive season.
Denver got off to a sluggish start, falling behind 9-4 off a Jamaal Brown jump hook at the 15:55 mark of the first half. The Pioneers created a few easy buckets, including a layup by junior center Yemi Nicholson (Aurora, Colo.), pulling within one at 16-15 with 11:46 left in the half. Cal State Fullerton used several Denver turnovers to build a 30-21 lead off a Ralphy Holmes layup at the 7:47 mark.
Denver cut the margin to five, but five consecutive points from Holmes gave the Titans a 43-33 lead with 3:12 remaining in the half. Cal State Fullerton's biggest first-half lead of 15 was cut to 13 when junior guard Brett Seger (Omaha, Neb.) hit a layup in the closing seconds, cutting the margin to 53-40.
Senior guard Erik Benzel (Spokane, Wash.) and Porch each had 10 points in the half. The Pioneers were 60.0 percent from the field (15-of-25), but committed 10 turnovers. The Titans made 64.7 percent (22-of-34) of their field goals, as Holmes scored 16.
A Porch jumper opened the second half and trimmed the margin to 59-48 with 15:56 left in the game. Justin Burns' layup at the 10:02 mark, gave Cal State Fullerton a 77-60 advantage. A Seger dunk got Denver to within 81-68 with 7:53 remaining in the contest. The Pioneers got as close as five, but were unable to battle back as the Titans held on for a 102-92 win.
Denver was 36-of-57 (.632) from the floor. The Titans made 61.9 percent (39-of-63) of their shots and got 17 points from the free-throw line.
Porch led the Pioneers with 30 points. Nicholson added 18, while Benzel had 15 and Seger 10. Cal State Fullerton also had four players in double-figures led by 29 from Brown.
The Pioneers play the third game of a five-game road schedule on Thursday, Dec. 30, when they travel to Fort Collins, Colo. to face instate-rival Colorado State at 6 p.m.
