MBB at IUPUI (16 JAN 16) - Audio Only

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Joe Rosga (St. Paul, Minn.) led the Pioneers with 12 points, as the University of Denver men's basketball team fell to the IUPUI Jaguars 76-61 Saturday afternoon at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum.

IUPUI (8-13, 4-2, SL) opened the second half on an 11-0 run en route to the Summit League victory. The Pioneers (10-9, 2-4, SL) fought, but had no answer for the hot-shooting Jaguars. IUPUI finished shooting a red-hot 69.2 percent (27-of-39).

Trailing by 21 points just over five minutes into the half Denver continued to fight and started knocking down shots from behind the arc. The Pioneers got two 3-pointers from Bryant Rucker (Frisco, Texas) and one apiece from Thomas Neff (Arvada, Colo.), Rosga and Nate Engesser (Colorado Springs, Colo.) to get the Jaguars lead down to 55-44 with just over nine minutes remaining in the second 20 minutes.

The Pioneers worked the entire second half and were able to cut the Jaguars lead to single digits after a Neff layup and free throw got DU within 61-52 with 6:14 left in the second half. Denver just couldn't get enough stops to get closer than nine in the second 20 minutes.

All 10 players who played for the Pioneers scored.

Denver jumped out to an early 7-5 lead that was answered with an 8-0 run by IUPUI to give the hosts a six-point lead. Engesser would get going inside the paint scoring six points for the Pioneers and a Marcus Byrd (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) 3-pointer would give DU a 22-21 lead.

IUPUI would go on an 11-2 run to close the first half with back-to-back 3-pointers from John Hubler and Matt O'Leary in the final 1:30 of the half to give the Jaguars a 30-23 going into the locker room.

Denver shot 40.0 percent (8-of-20), while IUPUI hit for a scorching 70.6 percent (12-of-17) in the first 20 minutes. The Pioneers hit for 42.9 percent (3-of-7) from behind the arc, while the Jaguars knocked down 62.5 percent (5-of-8) in the opening half.

Byrd led the Pioneers with seven points in the first half, while Engesser added six points. Christian Mackey (Kirtland, N.M.) chipped in with four points off the bench. Denver forced IUPUI into 11 first half turnovers.

Denver finished the game shooting 46.3 percent (19-of-41). The Pioneers finished the game hitting 47.4 percent (9-of-19) from beyond the arc compared to the Jaguars 66.7 percent (8-of-12).

IUPUI was led by Barksdale's 19 points.

Notes: The Pioneers have now hit a 3-pointer in 304 consecutive games.

Up Next: Denver will return home to start a four-game homestand on Thursday, Jan.21 with tip scheduled at 7 p.m. MT. The game can be heard on Mile High Sports Radio AM1340 with Raj Sharan on play-by-play duties. The game will also be streamed on Pioneer Vision via video and audio. For subscription information to Pioneer Vision please visit www.denverpioneers.com.

Tickets: 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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