DENVER, Colo. All five starters scored in double figures as the University of Denver rebounded from a 34-25 halftime deficit to defeat the visiting Troy Trojans 80-66 Thursday night at Magness Arena.

 

With the DU victory and UALR’s loss tonight, the Pioneers moved into a three-way tie for first place in the Sun Belt Conference West Division with UALR and Louisiana-Lafayette, which travels to Denver for a game on Sunday.

 

The Pioneers also improved to 8-1 at home this season, including a seven-game unbeaten streak.

 

Freshman forward Rob Lewis (Colorado Springs, Colo.) recorded his first career double-double in his third career start with 14 points and a career high 14 rebounds. He also led all players with a career high three blocks.

 

“Everyone played really well in the second half,” head coach Joe Scott said. “They moved the ball and passed great. Each one of the guys was in on it. Tonight was a big win for us.”

 

A pair of Pioneers reached career highs in scoring as junior guard Joe Jackson (New Orleans, La.) had 24 points, and sophomore forward Nate Rohnert (Parker, Colo.) finished with 19 points and six rebounds.

 

Denver (10-12, 6-5 SBC) also received double-figure scoring efforts by freshman guard Kyle Lewis (Denver, Colo.), who had 11, and senior center Adam Tanner (Melbourne, Australia), who had 10 points.

                                                                                             

Troy (10-13, 3-9 SBC) jumped to an early 8-0 lead and strung together an 11-1 run in the opening four minutes. Midway through the first half, six straight points by Jackson brought the Pioneers within nine at 18-11 with 9:28 to play.

 

The Trojans led by 13 points three different times in the opening stanza with the latest at 28-15 with 4:28 remaining. A pair of Kyle Lewis free throws with two seconds left narrowed the gap to nine with at 34-25 heading into the halftime intermission.

 

Jackson led all players with 13 first half points while Rob Lewis had five rebounds. Troy had five first-half steals to zero by Denver along with having only two turnovers compared to seven by the Pioneers.

 

“Joe Jackson gave us a good lift in the first half,” Scott said. “He got us some amazing baskets to keep us in it.”

 

The second half opened with a Rohnert jumper followed by a Rob Lewis free throw to cut the deficit to six.

 

Seven straight points by Rob Lewis brought Denver within two at 41-39 with 15:27. The 10-0 run by the Pioneers was punctuated by a Kyle Lewis three-pointer at 14:34 which gave Denver its first lead of the game at 42-41.

 

Jackson hit back-to-back three-pointers with 5:44 remaining in the game to give Denver a 60-56 lead.

 

Rohnert extended the lead to seven with his lone three-pointer of the game.

 

The Trojans used five points by O’Darien Bassett on a pair of free throws from a technical foul and a three-pointer to come back to within two at 65-63, but the Pioneers responded with a Rob Lewis bucket to go up 67-63 with 3:45 to play.

 

Denver sunk six free throws in the final 2:22 along with a pair of layups by Rohnert and Tanner to gain the 80-66 victory.

 

Entering the game, the Pioneers averaged 56.2 points per game, but tonight they scored 55 in the second half alone.

 

The Pioneers continue the homestand at Magness Arena on Sunday, when Denver hosts Louisiana-Lafayette at noon MT.