EUGENE, Ore. - University of Denver men's basketball junior guard Brian Stafford (Walnut Creek, Calif.) scored 15 points and sophomore guard Chase Hallam (Mesquite, Texas) had 14 points, but the Pioneers fell 65-54 to North Dakota State at the BTI Invitational at McArthur Court on Sunday afternoon.

"We are disappointed in the results this weekend, but we're not going to panic," head coach Joe Scott said. "We need to get back to Denver and refocus to get back to where we need to be. However, you have to give North Dakota State credit, because they played well in all three of their games this weekend."

Denver (0-3) led by 10 points with five minutes left in the first half, but NDSU (2-1) went on a 10-0 run before Chase Hallam hit two free throws to send the Pioneers to the break with a 30-28 lead.

The Pioneers struggled from the floor after the break, hitting just 4-of-15 (26.7 percent) of their shots and 1-of-9 from three-point range in the second half. In the game, DU was 19-of-42 (45.2 percent) from the field and 6-of-21 (28.6 percent) from three-point range.

The Bison were led by Eric Carlson, one of four NDSU players in double digits with 21 points. NDSU hit 47.8 percent (22-of-46) of its shots from the field.

The Pioneers return to Magness Arena to open their home schedule against in-state rival Colorado State on Thursday at 7 p.m. MT. Denver has won 15-straight games at Magness Arena, tied for the sixth-longest current home winning streak in the nation. The game will be broadcast live on FSN, as well as AM 1510, FM 93.7 and Pioneer Radio.