DENVER Freshman guard Travis Hallam (Mesquite, Texas) hit back-to-back three pointers midway through the second half to give the Pioneers a lead they would not relinquish, as the University of Denver men’s basketball team defeated visiting Louisiana-Monroe 58-47 in front of 2,088 fans at Magness Arena on Sunday afternoon.

                                                                                      

Redshirt freshman forward Andrew Hooper (Lakewood, Colo.) and junior forward Nate Rohnert (Parker, Colo.) led Denver (7-9, 2-3 SBC) with 14 points, three rebounds and one steal apiece. Rohnert also had a career-high eight assists to only two turnovers, while Hooper added two assists and a block.

 

The Pioneers also received 13 points, four rebounds and two assists from freshman guard Brian Stafford (Walnut Creek, Calif.).

 

“I thought it was a different kind of game for us after three excruciatingly hard losses in a row,” head coach Joe Scott said. “Monroe’s plan was to come in and slow us down and keep their team in the game, and they did a good job of that in the first half. We actually had to change our game a little bit and speed up and get the ball up the court faster. I really think our guys really responded well in the second half, and it wasn’t just one guy. It was everybody.”

 

Louisiana-Monroe (5-11, 1-4 SBC) received 16 points and eight rebounds from Rudy Turner, while Malcolm Thomas posted 12 points for the Warhawks.

 

A tight first half saw the lead change just twice, but neither team led by more than four points. The teams headed to the locker rooms with the Warhawks holding a 24-23 advantage. ULM’s Turner led all players with 10 first-half points, while Stafford had nine to lead the Pioneers.

 

DU shot 8-for-22 (36.7 percent) from the field in the opening half to Louisiana-Monroe’s 10-for-21 (47.2 percent) field goal effort. The Pioneers were 4-for-13 (30.7 percent) from three-point range, and the Warhawks went 2-for-3 (66.7 percent) from beyond the arc.

 

ULM outscored the Pioneers 9-6 in the opening 5:51 of the second half to take a four-point lead before Hallam sparked a 16-2 DU run on back-to-back three-pointers to give Denver a 45-35 lead with 7:06 to play.

 

Sophomore forward Rob Lewis (Colorado Springs, Colo.) drained a three with 4:15 remaining to give the Pioneers an 11-point lead at 52-41. Rohnert made two free throws in the final minute to seal DU’s seventh victory of the season.

 

The Pioneers improved to 14-for-21 (66.7 percent) from the field and 5-for-10 (50 percent) from three-point range in the second half, while the Warhawks slipped to 8-for-18 (44.4 percent) in field goals but went 3-for-6 (50 percent) in three-pointers.

 

Denver hits the road for a pair of Sun Belt games at North Texas and Florida International this week. The Pioneers take on the Mean Green on Thur., Jan. 15 at 6 p.m. MT before facing FIU on Sat., Jan. 17 at 5:30 p.m. MT.