Feb. 14, 2004

Box Score

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - The University of Denver men's basketball team was defeated, 65-48, by Middle Tennessee State on Valentine's Day in Sun Belt Conference play at the Murphy Center in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

The Pioneers fall to 13-10 overall and 5-6 in league play. The Blue Raiders improve to 13-10 overall and 5-5 in the conference.

"I don't know if we are tired or not, but the last two games we have faded in the second half," said head coach Terry Carroll. "If we are tired, we need to toughen up mentally, physically we are fine."

Both teams got off to a crisp start, with Michael Cuffee hitting two free throws at the 15:43 mark to give Middle Tennessee the early 8-6 lead. Junior point guard Rodney Billups (Denver, Colo.) scored three straight points to pull Denver to within 12-9, with 12:33 remaining in the first half.

The two squads traded field goals and free throws with senior forward Zeljko Zupic (Sinj, Croatia) making a double-pump layup for the Pioneers' 14th tally (18-14) with 8:15 left in the half. Two charity tosses by Tommy Gunn kept the Blue Raiders in front, 28-23 at the three minute mark of the first half. Denver evened up the score at 28-28, but five consecutive points by MTSU, including a Cuffee three, gave MTSU a 33-28 half-time lead

The Pioneers tied the score again, this time at 37-37, but two free throws, one by Cuffee and the other by Mike Dean gave Middle Tennessee a 39-37 lead with 15:42 left in the game. A fast-break layup by Zupic put the margin at five (48-43) with 10:20 remaining in the contest.

Seven straight points, capped off by a Dean break-away layup put the Blue Raiders up, 55-43 with just 8:57 left in the game. Junior guard Erik Benzel (Spokane, Wash.) hit one charity toss, making the scored, 60-46 with 4:47 left to play. Denver got as close as 12, but could not overcome the Blue Raiders.

Billups and sophomore center Yemi Nicholson (Denver, Colo.) led the Pioneers with 12 points each. Gunn led all scores with 17. Dean added 16 and Cuffee 12 for MTSU.

Denver was outrebounded, 43-31. Zupic and senior center Brett Starkey (Lakewood, Colo.) each had seven for the Pioneers. Gunn and Cuffee each had a game-high eight for Middle Tennessee.

The Pioneers will return home to battle SBC-foes North Texas (Thurs., Feb. 19) and New Mexico State (Mon., Feb. 23). Both games begin at 7 p.m. MT. Thursday's contest can be heard live on KKFN AM 950 "The Fan" and DenverPioneers.com. Monday's game can be heard live on KCKK AM 1600 and DenverPioneers.com.