DENVER - University of Denver junior guard Brian Stafford (Walnut Creek, Calif.) scored 15 points, and redshirt-sophomore guard Tyler Thalken (Tulsa, Okla.) and sophomore guard Chase Hallam (Mesquite, Texas) both added 14 points to lead the Pioneers to a thrilling overtime win over Sun Belt Conference foe Arkansas-Little Rock at Magness Arena on Sunday afternoon.

"We were up most of the game and happened to run into a little bit of bad luck there in the second half," Scott said. "But we played really well, persevered, and I am so proud of our guys for sticking with it and coming away with this one."

Denver (6-9, 2-0 SBC) led by as many as 12 points early in the second half, but the Trojans (8-8, 0-2 SBC) kept it within striking distance and pulling to one possession at 53-50 with 2:40 remaining. Chase Hallam scored on a backdoor layup on the next possession, and freshman forward Chris Udofia (Irving, Texas) came up with a block and offensive rebound, leading to a free throw by junior guard Travis Hallam (Mesquite, Texas) to put DU back up by six.

UALR's Matt Mouzy banked in a three with 12 seconds left in regulation. After Stafford buried a pair of free throws, Soloman Bozeman was fouled shooting a three-pointer and made two free throws, cutting Denver's lead to 59-58 with four seconds left.

Travis Hallam quickly drained a pair of free throws, but UALR's Alex Garcia Mendoza nailed a three-pointer at the buzzer to force overtime.

Arkansas-Little Rock took a 63-61 lead early in the extra session, their first lead since the 11:54 mark in the first half. However, Udofia and Thalken both hit three-pointers, and Chase Hallam scored on a layup to give Denver a 69-67 lead with 1:46 left in overtime.

The Trojans regained the upper hand with a three-point play by Eric Kibi with just over a minute to go, but Chase Hallam drove to the lane, made a layup and finished a three-point play on a free-throw with only nine seconds to play, giving DU a 72-70 lead. Bozeman missed a three-point attempt with four seconds left and got his own rebound but could not get a final shot off.

"I am happy for our guys because they stuck with it," Scott added. "This was a great win for us and a great win for the Denver fans."

The overtime victory - the fourth win in a row for the Pioneers - was Denver's first since head coach Joe Scott's first game at the helm of the Pioneers, a 76-75 win over East Central (Okla.) on Nov. 11, 2007.

Redshirt-junior forward Andrew Hooper (Lakewood, Colo.) and Udofia each had 10 points, making for five Pioneer players in double-figures for the first time since Dec. 19, 2009. Udofia also led DU in rebounds with five, and Thalken's 14 points were a career-high.

The Pioneers fells behind early, trailing by as many as six at the 17:20 mark in the first half. The lead changed four times and there were five ties. The Pioneers had only three turnovers prior to intermission compared to five from the Trojans and DU went into the locker room leading 29-25.

Solomon Bozeman led Arkansas-Little Rock with 25 points and D'Andre Williams added 12 points. Eric Kibi and Courtney Jackson both had six rebounds for the Trojans.

The Pioneers return to action Thursday, Jan. 6, when they travel to Western Kentucky. Game time is set for 6 p.m. MT and can be seen live on Fox College Sports (HSSN) and heard on Mile High Sports Radio AM 1510 and FM 93.7, as well as www.DenverPioneers.com.