MBB v Northern Iowa (10 DEC 14) - Highlights
MBB v Northern Iowa (10 DEC 14) - Post Game
MBB v Northern Iowa (10 DEC 14) - Full Game

DENVER - Senior guard Cam Griffin(San Antonio, Texas) and junior Nate Engesser (Colorado Springs, Colo.) both scored 15 points but it was not enough to push the Pioneers (4-4) past the [23/24] Northern Iowa Panthers (9-0). Denver fell by a final score of 65-55 Wednesday evening at Magness Arena.

Marcus Byrd (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) continued to play well as he chipped in 11 points, knocking down three 3-pointers, while playing a season-high 37 minutes.

"The key to the game tonight was the first 10-15 minutes, it was all Northern Iowa," head coach Joe Scott said. "They're obviously a really good team. We knew coming in that they were a really good team and what we've been stressing , which we did in our last road game, is you've got to play 40-minutes. We played well the last 25 minutes of the game but that's not good enough and it showed up on both ends of the court."

Denver forced Northern Iowa into 14 turnovers and had eight steals, but could not overcome the Panthers hot-shooting night.

"There are always positives," Scott said. "The positives tonight were Byrd and Griffin, both guys competed at a high level. They were ready to play. That's what playing good basketball teams do. They teach you the only way to have success, is by doing it as a team. Five, six, seven guys have to play well. That's the only way to be a good team yourself and the only way to beat a good team."

Denver finished the game shooting 47.6 percent (20-of-42), while Northern Iowa shot 70.0 percent (21-of-30). The Pioneers shot 30.4 percent from behind the 3-point line (7-of-23).

The Pioneers trailed 42-25 at halftime.

The Crimson and Gold were led in the first half by Byrd, Jalen Love (Wichita, Kan.) and Engesser who all scored six first half points.

Denver shot 45.0 percent (9-of-20) from the floor while Northern Iowa was red-hot hitting for 88.2 percent (15-of-17) in the first half. The Pioneers hit 40.0 percent (4-of-10) from behind the arc while the Panthers knocked down 66.7 percent (4-of-6).

The Panthers had four players in double figures led by Seth Tuttle's 12 points.

Denver heads on the road to take on Stanford on Saturday, Dec. 13 at 4 p.m. MT in a game that can be seen on the Pac-12 Network and also heard on Mile High Sports Radio 94.1 FM.

Fans interested in purchasing tickets can do so by phone at 303-871-2336, in person at the Ritchie Center box office or through DenverPioneers.com by clicking here.

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