DENVER Junior guard Nate Rohnert (Parker, Colo.) scored 14 points and pulled down six rebounds to lead the University of Denver men’s basketball team to a 5551 victory over the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns at Magness Arena on Thursday evening.

 

The Pioneers (12-14, 7-8 SBC) overcame 18 turnovers by shooting 18-for-30 (60.0 percent) from the field while the Ragin’ Cajuns went 16-for-43 (37.2 percent), including a team-high 12 points from Randall Daigle.

 

“Every game is a big game this time of year, but it was a big game tonight because we won Saturday and put us in position for this to be a big game,” head coach Joe Scott said. “Tonight we didn’t play as well as we’re capable of, but our defense was good. The reason we zeroed in on that is because this time of year all games are big, the teams know each other, and defense is often times the determining factor.”

 

Denver also received double-digits from sophomore forward Rob Lewis (Colorado Springs, Colo.), who collected 12 points and went 6-for-9 from the free throw line.

 

Louisiana-Lafayette (9-17, 6-9 SBC) scored the game’s first four points, but sophomore guard Kyle Lewis (Denver, Colo.) responded with a three-pointer at 17:11 to spark an 8-0 run.

 

Denver increased the lead in the final two minutes of the first half, when freshman guard Sabatino Chen (Louisville, Colo.) hit a three-pointer at 1:42, followed with a free-throw by freshman forward Justin Coughlin (Yuma, Colo.), sending Denver to the break with a 29-23 advantage.

 

The Pioneers, who were led by Rohnert’s 11 first half points, shot 10-for-14 (71.4 percent) from the field before the break, including 4-for-4 (100.0 percent) from beyond the arc. The Ragin’ Cajuns were held to 8-for-22 (36.4 percent) from the field and 1-for-8 from three-point range.

 

Rob Lewis made an early layup at 19:41to lead a 12-1 DU run to start the second half and put the Pioneers up 41-26, their largest lead of the game.

 

Louisiana-Lafayette clawed its way back, cutting the Denver lead to 46-43 with just under five minutes remaining, but the Pioneers hit seven free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.

 

The Pioneers hit the road for a pair of SBC match-ups, starting at Arkansas State on Saturday at 6 p.m. Denver then heads to Louisiana-Monroe for a game on Feb. 26 at 7 p.m.