ARLINGTON, Texas - Freshman guard Nate Engesser (Colorado Springs, Colo.) scored a career-high 14 points, leading the University of Denver men's basketball team to a 50-35 victory over Texas-Arlington on Monday afternoon at College Park Center.

Senior guard Chase Hallam (Mesquite, Texas) scored eight points and four steals, sophomore guard Brett Olson (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) added nine points, and junior forward Chris Udofia (Irving, Texas) recorded eight rebounds, four assists and four blocked shots for the Pioneers (5-7, 1-1 WAC).

"We needed this win in a lot of ways. I'm glad we got a win on the road in this first weekend of WAC play, especially coming off a loss," head coach Joe Scott said. "

We played great defense, took care of the ball, and we made enough shots. Nate Engesser shot really well to give us a lead, and we played well to hold onto to the lead and extend it. It was a total team effort against a good UTA basketball team."

The Pioneers shot just 37.8 percent (17-of-45) from the floor and 31.4 percent (11-of-35) from three-point range. However, Denver limited itself to just nine turnovers, and the DU defense held UTA (6-4, 1-1 WAC) to 27.7 percent (13-of-47) from the floor and caused 18 turnovers.

Denver opened the second half on an 8-0 run to stretch the lead to 12 points with 16:08 to play. UTA clawed back to four points with just under 10 minutes on the clock.

However, Olson hit a pair of three-pointers to stop an 8-0 run and spark a 10-0 run by the Pioneers that was capped by a pair of layups by sophomore guard Cam Griffin (San Antonio, Texas), who added six points, five rebounds, two assists and a steal.

The Pioneers used a barrage of three-pointers to take a 21-17 to the halftime break. Engesser tied his career high in the first half with 11 points, including three three-pointers and DU's only bucket inside the arc. Denver turned the ball over only twice before the break, the lowest since recording a pair at Utah State on Nov. 30, 2011.

The Mavericks were led in scoring by Karol Gruszecki with eight points.

Denver returns home to Magness Arena to host Texas State on Thursday at 7 p.m., followed by a Sunday matinee against Texas San Antonio at 2 p.m. MT.

Visit denverpioneers.com for complete coverage of all 17 of DU's Division I athletic programs.

-EXPERIENCE DENVER ATHLETICS-

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