Jan. 13, 2005

Box Score

DENVER - Erik Benzel had 17 points and hit five 3-pointers, and Denver held North Texas to 23 percent shooting in a 79-52 victory over the Mean Green Thursday night.

Denver (7-6, 2-0 Sun Belt), playing its first home game since Dec. 13, took control with an early 17-0 run and never let up, shooting 50 percent to win its second straight game.

Yemi Nicholson had his way inside at both ends, with 14 points, 12 rebounds and five of the Pioneers' 12 blocked shots. Rodney Billups was effective at the point without much scoring, finishing with six points, 10 assists, eight rebounds and four steals. Benzel added five assists and four steals.

North Texas (8-5, 1-1) had a miserable night shooting, missing uncontested layups, shooting airballs on open jumpers and even botching a 4-on-1 break. The Mean Green were at least effective from 3-point range, going 7-for-18, but hit just 11-of-58 from inside the arc.

Leonard Hopkins was the only North Texas player in double figures, scoring 12 points on 4-of-17 shooting.

North Texas started off impatient and careless - not a good combination.

The Mean Green had nine turnovers by halftime - five on consecutive possessions midway through - and took plenty of quick shots, prompting coach Johnny Jones to yell "work for the shot" several times.

North Texas was just 8-for-34 in the first half and went almost nine minutes without a field goal after taking a 6-2 lead. The Mean Green also had seven shots blocked, managing a season-low 23 points by halftime.

North Texas had plenty of lapses on defense, too.

The Mean Green tried fronting Nicholson in the post but did a poor job of helping on the weak side, allowing him to hit 4-of-9 shots for 10 points and grab eight rebounds by halftime. The Mean Green also had trouble getting back and allowed plenty of cutters down the lane, particularly during the 17-0 run that put Denver up 19-6 midway through.

The Pioneers didn't let up in the second half, shooting 56 percent to push the lead to 27 points. Denver wasn't bad on defense, either, holding North Texas to 10-of-42 from the field and breaking up a 4-on-1 when Billups reached over Hopkins and blocked his shot.