MBB v Idaho State (25 NOV 15) - Highlights
MBB v Idaho State (25 NOV 15) - Post Game
MBB v Idaho State (25 NOV 15) - Full Game

Box Score

DENVER - Joe Rosga (St. Paul, Minn.) set a career-high with 20 points and added four assists as the University of Denver men's basketball team won its fourth-straight game defeating the Idaho State Bengals 79-69 Wednesday afternoon at Magness Arena.

The Pioneers (4-1) never trailed in the game. Denver once again used its depth as they had five players score eight or more points led by Nate Engesser's (Colorado Springs, Colo.) 25 points. C.J. Bobbitt (Harker Heights, Texas) filled up the stat sheet scoring 13 points, grabbed six rebounds and added three assists.

This game marked the first time that the Pioneers have had two players with at least 20 points, Engessesr (25) and Rosga (20), since Engesser and Cam Griffin each had 20-plus point performances vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Dec. 17, 2014. Denver's 60.5 percent shooting percentage is also the first time that the team has shot better than 60 percent since their game at South Dakota Feb. 25, 2015.

"That's college basketball," head coach Joe Scott said. "I keep stressing to these guys, these young guys, it's who plays harder, who gives more effort, who stays with that theme, who stays disciplined in that process, and I think our guys have done a really good job. It wasn't pretty per se, maybe because we're not making foul shots. We were able to keep hanging in there and get some key stops and some big rebounds and make enough foul shots."

Jake Pemberton (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) had a career-afternoon tying his career-high with eight points and pulling down a career-high six rebounds. Marcus Byrd (Highlands Ranch, Colorado) added two points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Despite the Pioneers struggles at the free-throw line (25-of-41) they made more foul shots than the Bengals attempted 23 (15-of-23).

The Crimson and Gold jumped out to an early 12-6 lead with all baskets being 3-pointers, including three 3-pointers from Engesser. With the score tied at 18 the Pioneers used a 13-2 run to build a double-digit lead and closed the half out on a 23-12 run to take a 41-30 lead.

Engesser led the Pioneers with 15 first half points on five made 3-points. Bobbitt chipped in eight points and grabbed three rebounds, while Bryant Rucker (Frisco, Texas) added six points.

The Pioneers shot a lights out 66.7 percent (14-of-21) from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, while Idaho State hit for 39.1 percent (9-of-23) in the first 20 minutes. The Pioneers hit a staggering 61.5 percent (8-of-13) from behind the arc in the opening half. The Bengals shot 27.3 percent (3-of-11) from behind the 3-point line in the first half.

Denver shot a scorching 60.5 percent (23-of-38), to Idaho State's 43.4 percent (23-of-53) from the field for the game. The Pioneers made 47.1 percent from behind the 3-point line (8-of-17). The Bengals hit 36.4 percent (8-of-22) from 3-point range.

Idaho State was led by Ali Faruq-Bey's 18 points.

Notes: The Pioneers have now hit a 3-pointer in 290 consecutive games. The four-game winning streak is the longest since the Pioneers won 10-straight and 17-of-18 during the 2012-13 season.

Denver will continue its five-game homestand on Saturday, Nov. 28 at 2 p.m. MT against old Sun Belt Conference foe South Alabama. The game can be heard on Mile High Sports Radio 1340 AM with Raj Sharan on the call and streamed via Pioneer Vision. For subscription information to Pioneer Vision please visit www.denverpioneers.com.

Fans interested in purchasing tickets to upcoming Denver men's basketball home games 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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