BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - University of Denver junior guard Brian Stafford (Walnut Creek, Calif.) had 17 points and junior guard Travis Hallam (Mesquite, Texas) scored nine of his 15 points in the second half to give Denver a 62-59 win over Western Kentucky at E.A. Diddle Arena on Thursday night.

"I thought we played really well the whole game. We didn't turn the ball over, and that means we were running our offense well," Scott said. "For the last week, we really focused on the offense because our defense has been getting pretty good. What I really liked was that we knew what we were doing the whole game, and everybody contributed again tonight."

Sophomore guard Chase Hallam (Mesquite, Texas) nearly had his first career double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds, while redshirt-sophomore guard Tyler Thalken (Tulsa, Okla.) had a career best five assists. Freshman forward Chris Udofia (Irving, Texas) added eight points, seven rebounds and three blocks.

The Pioneers (7-9, 3-0 SBC) won their fifth-straight game by shooting 51.0 percent (26-for-51) from the field and limiting themselves to just seven turnovers.

The victory was the first by Denver over the Hilltoppers (5-9, 0-2 SBC) in five games at E.A. Diddle Arena, as well as DU's third-straight victory against WKU.

WKU cut the Denver lead to six points with just under eight minutes to play before Stafford drilled a three-pointer. After a layup by WKU's Juan Pattillo, Travis Hallam nailed a three-pointer and hit the free throw for a four-point play with 5:02 remaining.

Pattillo scored again, but Travis Hallam hit a floater as the shot clock hit zero with 3:39 remaining in the game to put Denver back up by 12 points.

Western Kentucky scored four more before Travis Hallam drove and made a pull up jumper to push the lead back to 10 points.

Pattillo scored from the paint on the next two WKU possessions, and Kahlil McDonald nailed a three-pointer to and hit a free throw to cut the Denver lead to 59-57 with 39 seconds left in the game.

Stafford was fouled and made both free throws with nine seconds left. After Caden Dickenson got an offensive rebound and made the follow, Travis Hallam was fouled with 0.003 seconds left and made the second free throw. WKU could not get a shot off.

Western Kentucky scored first, but Denver responded with a 12-2 run and stretched the lead to 15 points to end the first half. DU shot 56.7 percent (17-of-30), while holding the Hilltoppers to 34.6 percent (9-of-26). The Pioneers also outscored WKU 26-18 in the paint and 13-4 off turnovers in the first half.

WKU was led by Pattillo's 24 points and 11 rebounds, while Kerusch also had a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.

The Pioneers conclude their road trip at Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday at 12 p.m. MT. The game will air live on the Sun Belt Network, which can be seen on ESPN3.com and ESPN+ as part of the ESPN Full Court Package, and heard on Mile High Sports Radio AM 1510 and FM 93.7, as well as www.DenverPioneers.com.