Dec. 1, 2005

Box Score

DENVER - The University of Denver men's basketball team improved to 4-1 with a 78-63 win over the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks, Thursday night in Magness Arena. Senior center Yemi Nicholson (Aurora, Colo.) led the Pioneers with 20 points and a career-high 18 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. Junior newcomer DaShawn Walker (Chicago, Ill) added 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including going 2-of-5 from 3-point land.

"Our defensive intensity in the second half was key," head coach Terry Carroll said. "Northern Arizona had some good perimeter shooters and in the first half we weren't guarding them as well as we should have, in the second half we started getting into their perimeter guys and denying the second look. I also have to give credit to Andrew Carpenter; he really guarded Bazy well in the second half, which helped us in our defense. This team showed a lot of heart tonight."

The Pioneers got off to a quick start, opening the game with a 4-0 run. On the first possession the Pioneers pushed the ball the length of the floor while center Nicholson swatted away a Lumberjack shot on the defensive side. Walker had the hot hand in the first frame, scoring two treys on 2-of-3 shooting in the early goings of the half.

Northern Arizona began to climb back into the game midway through the half, scoring a bucket and adding a trey to cut the DU lead to 25-17 at the 10:34 mark. The Lumberjacks continued to fight as Ruben Boykin and Tyrone Bazy added two buckets to cut the Denver lead to six points at the 8:15 mark. Bazy shot a lights out 3-pointer, to bring the Lumberjacks all the way back, from being down by more than 10 points, to within three points at the 6:17 mark.

Walker had an answer for the Lumberjacks putting in his fourth three of the half to give DU the lead, 31-26. Northern wouldn't go away as, Steven Sir scored a trey and the defense forced a turnover, to pull within one of the lead at 32-31. Nicholson extended the DU lead to 36-33 on a quick bucket on a feed from junior forward Antonio Porch (Denver, Colo.), but the Lumberjacks hit another 3-pointer to tie the game at 36-36 with 3:03 left in the first half. Nicholson broke the tie at the 2:23 mark with a shot from the charity line. While, Northern Arizona threatened several times and shot 45.5 percent from three, the Pioneers ended the half on a 5-2 run, to take a 41-36 lead into the locker room.

The Pioneers came out with defense in mind in the second frame. Porch added to the DU tally with an early bucket, but Bazy answered with a bucket. Walker continued to lead the way for the Pioneers in the second half, coming up with a defensive stop that led to a Nicholson bucket on the other end. Sophomore forward David Kummer (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) showed both his offensive ad defensive prowess against the Lumberjacks. He added a bucket for the Pioneers and then wrestled a rebound out of the hands of a Northern Arizona player to start a DU fast break. The Pioneers began to pull away halfway through the half.

Porch scored 12 points and sophomore guard Steve Wetrich (Ottumwa, Iowa) contributed career-high nine points for the Pioneers, while Kummer added seven.

DU returns to action Saturday, Dec. 3 when they take on the Montana State Bobcats at 2 p.m. in Magness Arena. The Pioneers won't return home until January 2 when they PACK THE HOUSE against regional rival Wyoming at 7 p.m. in Magness Arena.