PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – University of Denver sophomore guard Jalen Love (Wichita, Kan.) scored 20 points and made four steals, but the Pioneers fell 53-52 at Saint Joseph’s in DU’s nonconference finale at Michael J. Hagan ‘85 Arena on Saturday afternoon.

Trailing by two, the Pioneers (7-8) had a chance at the end, but a three-point shot by redshirt sophomore Marcus Byrd (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) was in and out, and senior Chris Udofia’s (Irving, Texas) follow was blocked. Udofia had nine points and a team-high seven rebounds.

“We executed well at the end,” head coach Joe Scott said. “Our experience showed, and we knew what to do to win a road game against a good team in a tough place. Things just didn’t go our way at the end. We’ve played a very difficult nonconference schedule, and now we need to take what we learned into The Summit League, starting next week.”

The Pioneers shot 44.2 percent (19-of-43) from the floor and 35.0 percent (7-of-10) from three-point range, while holding Saint Joseph’s (9-4) to just 37.5 percent (18-of-48) from the field.

However, the Hawks made 13-of-23 (56.5 percent) from the free throw line, and the Pioneers were 7-of-10 (70.0 percent). St. Joe’s out-rebounded DU 38-26, scoring 10 second-chance point.

Galloway Langston and DeAndre Bembry led the Hawks with 14 and 13 points, respectively, and Ronald Roberts had nine points and a game-high 15 rebounds.

The Pioneers were hot out of the gate, opening the game on a 16-5 run over the first eight minutes, but St. Joe’s stormed back to tie it with 3:02 left in the first. A dunk by Udofia gave Denver a 25-23 lead at the break.

Denver opens The Summit League season at South Dakota in Vermillion on Saturday, Jan. 11 at 3 p.m. MT. The game will air live on Fox College Sports, as well as Mile High Sports Radio AM 1510 and 93.7 FM.

Individual home game tickets for men's basketball are on sale now with prices starting at $9 for adults. Single-game tickets can be purchased in person at the Ritchie Center Box Office, by phone at 303-871-2336 or online at DenverPioneers.com/tickets. DU students are admitted to all Denver men's basketball games FREE with their Pioneer Card.

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