Jan. 26, 2006

Box Score

DENVER - Junior guard DaShawn Walker (Chicago, Ill.) recorded 17 points on 5-of-13 shooting, to lead the Pioneers to a 69-60 victory over Sun Belt Conference Western Division leader South Alabama Thursday night in Magness Arena. The Pioneers improve to 11-9, (4-3 SBC), while the Jaguars fall to 13-5 (4-2 SBC). Senior center Yemi Nicholson (Aurora, Colo.) added 16 points and 11 rebounds in the victory and David Kummer (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) added 15 points.

"This was a really gutsy win for our team," head coach Terry Carroll said. "With all that we had to fight through the team really pulled together. Our defense was strong enough to keep us in it until the offense kicked in, in the second half. It was a total team effort tonight."

Both teams started the game quickly, pushing the ball up the court. South Alabama got on the board first with a pull-up jumper but DU answered with a bucket in the paint by Nicholson to tie the game. South Alabama pushed the tempo and went on a 5-0 run to take the early 7-2 lead. Walker stopped the Jaguar run with a jumper in the lane to cut the USA lead to three points, while Nicholson pulled the Pioneers within one with a bucket in the lane at the 13:15 mark. Steven Cowherd pushed the lead to four with a trey from the left side at the 11:55 mark. Senior guard Brett Seger (Omaha, Neb.) had an answer for the Pioneers by hitting a trey to cut the lead to 10-9 with a little over 10 minutes left in the frame.

The Jags capitalized on several Pioneer miscues and went on a 4-0 run to extend their lead to 16-11 with 7:21 remaining in the frame. Walker hit a pair from the charity stripe but the Jags answered with a bucket to extend their lead to 18-15 at the 6:02 mark. Seger provided a viable scoring option off the bench hitting a timely 3-pointer to cut the lead to one point with just under six minutes remaining. The Jaguars continued to have an answer as they hit a bucket to extend their lead to 20-17. Seger hit a quick trey and a 3-pointer by Walker with 0.3 seconds remaining brought the Pioneers within one of the lead, as USA went into halftime with a 27-26 lead.

DU picked up their intensity in the second half and came out ready to play. Sophomore forward David Kummer (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) opened the half with a bucket and completed the three-point play to give the Pioneers a 29-27 lead. Nicholson extended the lead to 31-27 with a basket in the paint. The Jags wouldn't go away and came within one with a quick bucket. USA took the lead at 13:05, but Nicholson had an answer and the Pioneers took a 35-34 lead at the 12:26 mark.

The teams traded baskets and the lead changed hands nine times before DU took a three point lead behind huge plays on the defensive end and buckets by Kummer on the offensive side of the ball. Walker had a bucket but South Alabama answered with a basket to cut the lead to two, but Walker answered again with a trey from downtown and sophomore guard Steve Wetrich (Ottumwa, Iowa) hit a bucket to give DU a 54-51 lead with just under six minutes left in the frame. Nicholson extended the lead to five with a basket in the paint. The Jaguars kept it close hitting several shots, but a 3-pointer by Walker and a dunk by Nicholson put DU ahead by seven with just over two minutes remaining. The Jags came close but the Pioneers held on for a 69-60 victory.

The Pioneers end their two-game homestand by hosting the Sun Belt Conference's newest member, Troy on Sat., Jan. 28 at 7 p.m.