DENVER The University of Denver men’s basketball team fell to the visiting Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders 65-58 on Thursday night at Magness Arena.

 

A trio of Pioneers scored in double figures in the loss. Senior center Adam Tanner (Melbourne, Australia) led the Pioneers with 16 points while freshman guard Kyle Lewis (Denver, Colo.) finished with 13 points. Junior guard Joe Jackson (New Orleans, La.) had 10 points.

 

“We’ve been wanting to get to this point, to play meaningful games like this in late February,” head coach Joe Scott said. “Middle Tennessee played well, and we played well at times. We have to give them credit for doing the things teams need to do to win this kind of game.”

 

Freshman forward Rob Lewis (Colorado Springs, Colo.) had nine points and a team high six rebounds before fouling out with 7:27 to play in the second half. Sophomore forward Nate Rohnert (Parker, Colo.) finished with eight points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal.

 

Middle Tennessee (13-13, 10-6 SBC) jumped to a 10-2 lead in the opening 9:12 of the first half, but the Pioneers responded with an 8-2 run to come within two at 12-10 with 8:06 remaining.

 

With 5:55 to play in the opening stanza, a Tanner free throw tied the score at 13-13.

 

Denver (11-15, 7-8 SBC) took its first lead of the game at 16-15 when Rohnert hit a three-pointer with 4:42 remaining. In the closing four minutes of the half, DU maintained its lead with a 7-4 run.

 

The Pioneers led 23-21 when the teams headed to the lockerrooms at half. Rohnert led DU with six first half points, while Rob Lewis, Kyle Lewis and Tanner each added five in the opening 20 minutes.

 

Middle Tennessee shot 9-for-19 (47.4 percent) from the field while the Pioneers hit 8-of-18 field goals (44.4 percent) in the first half.

 

The second half opened with a Tanner jumper, but Middle Tennessee regained the lead at 31-29 just 2:44 into the half and never surrendered it.

 

A four-point play by Kyle Lewis brought Denver back within four at 41-37 with 13:29 to play, but a 7-1 by the Blue Raiders extended Middle Tennessee’s lead back to double digits at 48-38 with 10:59 remaining.

 

The Pioneers again battled back, this time coming within seven at 58-51 when Jackson hit a three-pointer with 5:43 to play. Middle Tennessee pulled away, though, handing Denver its first conference home loss this season and snapping an eight-game home winning streak.

 

“I’m excited to see how we play on Sunday, just like I was excited to see how we would play tonight,” Scott said. “We have to expect another game like tonight’s and respond with a little resilience. In the long run, though, our guys are going to be better off because of what we’re doing now.”

 

The Pioneers play their final regular season game at Magness Arena against New Orleans on Sunday at 4 p.m. MT. Denver will honor seniors David Kummer (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) and Tanner.