TROY, Ala. Junior forward Nate Rohnert (Parker, Colo.) had 24 points and 11 rebounds, but the University of Denver men’s basketball team fell to Troy 76-72 at Trojan Arena on Saturday night.

 

Denver (9-12, 4-6 SBC) led for the first 38:40 of the game, but Troy (13-10, 8-3 SBC) tied it and took it to overtime before going on a 6-0 run in the extra period for the win.

 

Sophomore Rob Lewis (Colorado Springs, Colo.) added 21 points, and redshirt freshman forward Andrew Hooper (Lakewood, Colo.) had 18 points for the Pioneers, while Troy’s Brandon Hazzard led all players with 28 points.

 

Rohnert hit three free throws to open overtime and give the Pioneers a 70-67 lead, but Troy responded with five straight points to take a 72-70 lead with 1:33 remaining.

 

Denver (9-11, 4-5 SBC) opened the game with a quick five-point run by Rob Lewis before the Trojans got on the board.

 

Hooper sparked a 13-0 DU run with a pair of three-pointers, increasing Denver’s lead to 22-7 with 10:21 remaining in the first half.

 

Troy responded with seven-straight points, punctuated by a dunk by Richard Delk to cut the DU lead to 22-14 at the 8:19 mark.

 

After the Trojans ended the half on a 7-2 run, Denver headed to the locker room with a 31-24 lead.

 

Troy opened the second half on a 7-3 run until Hooper’s fourth three-pointer of the night put DU in front 37-31 with 17 minutes remaining.

 

The teams exchanged buckets over the next five minutes until Troy ripped off six straight points to cut the DU lead to 46-45 with 10:40 remaining.

 

A Rohnert pull up and a three-pointer by sophomore Nigel Peter-Denman (Seattle, Wash.) extended the lead back to 51-45 with 9:45 left.

 

The teams again traded buckets until Troy fought back with a 9-2 run to cut the DU lead to 65-53 with 3:10 remaining and tied the game on a layup by Hazzard with 1:20 left in the game.

 

Hazzard hit a pull-up jumper to put Troy in front for the first time with 15 seconds remaining, but Rob Lewis nailed a hook shot with a second left to send the game to overtime.

 

The Pioneers returns home to face Middle Tennessee at Magness Arena on Thursday, Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. 

 

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