DENVER Junior guard Nate Rohnert (Parker, Colo.) led the University of Denver men’s basketball team to a 66-55 victory over Colorado State University at Magness Arena on Saturday evening with 17 points and three rebounds.

 

Denver (4-6) won its third straight game and for the fourth time in the past five games. Redshirt freshman forward Andrew Hooper (Lakewood, Colo.) nearly got a double-double with 16 points and eight rebounds, while the Pioneers also received double-digit scoring efforts from freshman guard Brian Stafford (Walnut Creek, Calif.) and sophomore forward Rob Lewis (Colorado Springs, Colo.) with 14 and 12 points, respectively.

 

In addition to his career-highs, Rohnert went 5-for-6 from the free throw line, and added four assists and a steal in 39 minutes of play.

 

“I thought overall we played well for 40 minutes,” said head coach Joe Scott. “We took care of the ball and played well defensively. We got a bunch of contributions from different guys, which is what we’ve been doing, and it’s critical that we continue to do that as this young team continues to mature.”

 

Colorado State (3-8) was led by Travis Franklin, who had 11 points and six rebounds.

 

After CSU’s Dan Vandervieren scored 28 seconds into the game, Rob Lewis scored on a backdoor cut to spark a 9-2 Denver run.

 

The Pioneers held the Rams to 22.7 percent (5-of-22) shooting in the first half while building up a 24-16 lead heading into halftime. ooperHHooperRohnert led the Pioneers with eight points in the first half, while Andre McFarland had five for the Rams.

 

Colorado State opened the second half with nine unanswered points to take a 25-24 advantage with 17:35 remaining before Hooper drilled a pair of three to reclaim the lead.

 

Stafford hit his second straight three-pointer with 11:27 to go in the game, giving the Pioneers a 10-point lead at 41-31, but the Rams went on a 10-0 run over the next minute and a half to tie the game.

 

A four-point play by Rob Lewis with 5:33 left in the game put the Pioneers back up by five points.

 

With 4:09 left, CSU’s Adam Nigon stole the ball and scored on a layup to cut the Rams’ deficit to 51-50, but the Pioneers hit 15-of-19 free throws over the final 3:21 to seal the victory.

 

Denver shot 50.0 percent in the second half to improve its overall field goal percentage to 43.9 percent (18-for-41), while holding Colorado State to 21-for-51 (41.2 percent) from the field, despite shooting 55.2 percent (16-for-29) in the second half.

 

Denver hosts Grambling State at Magness Arena on Monday, Dec. 22 at 7 p.m.