Feb. 12, 2004

Box Score

DENVER - Mike Wells scored 22 points, including three 3-pointers in the final 7:25, and Western Kentucky beat the Denver Pioneers 78-65 on Thursday night in Sun Belt Conference action in Magness Arena.

The Hilltoppers (12-10, 6-4 Sun Belt) got 16 points from Nigel Dixon and 14 from Antonio Haynes in posting their fourth straight win.

Junior point guard Rodney Billups (Denver, Colo.) scored 18 points and senior center Brett Starkey (Lakewood, Colo.) 14 for Denver (13-9, 5-5).

Western Kentucky shot 54 percent (13-24) compared to Denver's 29 percent (6-21) in the second half, outscoring the Pioneers 46-29 in the half to erase a 36-32 halftime deficit.

Dixon scored Western Kentucky's first seven points of the second half, pulling the Hilltoppers into a 39-39 tie. Anthony Winchester then hit back-to-back 3-pointers for a 45-41 lead.

Haynes scored nine straight points for the Hilltoppers, including a pair of 3-pointers, for a 57-48 lead with 11:41 remaining.

The Pioneers cut the deficit to four points, 59-55, on Billups' 3-pointer. Wells responded with two free throws for a 61-55 lead, and then hit his trio of 3-pointers down the stretch - the last one producing a 74-63 lead with 1:54 left.

Western Kentucky outscored the Pioneers 9-2 over the final 2:41.

Starkey scored 12 points in the first half, during which Denver outshot Western Kentucky 48 percent (15-31) to 39 percent (11-28).

Dixon, Western Kentucky's leading scorer and rebounder, sat out the last 6:14 of the half after picking up his second foul.

Western Kentucky used a 10-2 run early in the game to open up a 19-10 lead.

The Pioneers countered with a 16-4 flurry, including three layups by Starkey, to forge a 26-23 lead with 5:49 remaining in the half.

Jumpers by Winchester and Wells put the Hilltoppers back ahead, but Denver then scored the next six points, including Billups' driving layup.

Haynes hit two free throws and Wells added a 3-pointer, making it 32-32. But Billups made two driving layups in the final minute.