DENVER Freshman guard Brian Stafford (Walnut Hills, Calif.) scored 14 points and tied his career high of three steals, while junior guard Nate Rohnert (Parker, Colo.) had a game-high 17 points to lead the University of Denver men’s basketball team to a 63-51 victory over Middle Tennessee at Magness Arena on Thursday night.

 

Denver (10-12, 5-6 SBC) also received double-digits from sophomore guard Kyle Lewis (Denver, Colo.) with 10 points.

 

 “We’ve been playing good basketball since Dec. 9,” head coach Joe Scott said. “That first half might have been the best we’ve played because it was against a good team a team that was picked to win our league, a team that’s well coached. They’re tough. They’re physical. It’s what makes them be good. They have an identity. We showed tonight that we have an identity, too. Our guys know what our identity is and showed it for all 40 minutes.”

 

Rohnert put up what proved to be the game-winning shot against Middle Tennessee (14-9, 8-4 SBC) on a layup with 6:57 left in the second half. Stafford sealed the game with two free throws down the stretch.

 

The Pioneers finished the game shooting 24for-42 (57.6 percent) from the field compared to 16for-38 (42.4 percent) by the Blue Raiders, whose only lead was one point off a free throw 50 seconds into the game.

 

Freshman forward Justin Coughlin (Yuma, Colo.), Stafford, Kyle Lewis, freshman guard Travis Hallam (Mesquite, Texas) and freshman guard Sabatino Chen (Louisville, Colo.) combined for a total 11 steals against the Blue Raiders.

 

Coughlin also added eight points, three rebounds and a career-high three blocks.

 

After Middle Tennessee opened the scoring with a free throw, Rohnert started an eight-point scoring streak with a three-point play at 18:38.

 

The Blue Raiders, who were led by Desmond Yates’ 12 points, cut Denver’s lead to one point with 10:03 remaining after a 9-2 run. The Pioneer’s managed to bring their lead back up to 12 points, the largest lead of the first half, heading into the locker room with a 35-23 advantage.

 

The Pioneers shot 13-for-21 (61.9 percent) from the field in the first half, including 3-for-77 (42.9 percent) from beyond the arc, while holding Middle Tennessee to 7-for-21 (33.3 percent) from the field and 8-for-13 from three-point range.

 

The Blue Raiders brought the game to within six points with 6:48 to play after an 8-2 run, but Denver responded with 10-straight points to seal the victory.

 

The Pioneers hit the road for a pair of SBC match-ups, starting at Arkansas-Little Rock on Saturday at 6 p.m. before heading to Florida Atlantic for a game on Feb. 12 at 5 p.m.