DENVER—Joe Scott glances away when his players step to the free throw line, refusing to watch what’s about to happen.
The University of Denver coach did a lot of not looking Saturday as the Pioneers hit 15-of-19 free throws in the final 3:45 to fend off Colorado State 66-55, handing the Rams their 22nd straight road loss.
Sure, it’s superstitious. Yeah, his looking wouldn’t change anything.
But he can’t help the habit he began when he was in charge of a young squad while at Air Force.
Now, he’s got a similarly youthful team at Denver, a squad with no seniors. The Pioneers (4-6) are the youngest bunch in the nation, averaging just 18.9 years old.
Early on, Scott was tough on them—and they started 0-5.
He’s since backed off—and they’ve won four of their last five.
“I said I’ve got to be more patient,” Scott said. “I sort of backed off Nate Rohnert a little bit and said, ‘Hey, play. You’re a good player.'”
Rohnert appreciated the slack Scott has cut him, scoring 17 points against the Rams (3-8).
However, his biggest play of the game was a charge he drew on Marcus Walker with 3:45 remaining and the Pioneers clinging to a 51-50 lead.
So outraged was Colorado State coach Tim Miles over the call, he angrily ripped off his tie, drawing a technical foul from the officials.
The Pioneers quickly turned a one-point nail biter into an 11-point cushion as they started their parade to the free throw line.
“There was a lot of frustration built up in that,” Mile said. “Sometimes you feel like you have to fight for your team. I was just trying to make it clear, I was fighting for my guys. It didn’t work out that way.”
The losing spell on the road is weighing on the Rams.
It’s a trend Miles is trying to terminate. The Rams haven’t won on the road since beating Texas Christian, 66-54, on Jan. 17, 2007.
“Losing is a bad habit,” Miles said. “It’s like stopping smoking or anything else, it’s hard to do, hard to break. It’s a lot harder to break that habit than it is once you get in the habit of winning. We need to teach our guys to win.”
Rohnert was made the leader of the young Pioneer pack, a role he relishes. He’s an extension of Scott on the floor, willing to do whatever he’s asked.
He’s drawing confidence from the faith Scott has placed in him.
“He’s let me play a little bit, which is good,” Rohnert said.
Just a little bit? Scott said he’s laying off.
“I don’t know about laying off,” Rohnert said, grinning. “If I see a situation and drive, he’s giving me the green light. He knows I’m going to make good decisions out there.”
As for its youth, Rohnert said the team needs to make up for it by flawlessly doing all the little things on the court.
“We’re not the biggest team, we’re not the most athletic team and we’re inexperienced,” Rohnert said. “We’re going to have to play harder than teams and play smarter than teams.”
Andrew Hooper scored 16 points for Denver while Brian Stafford added 14 and Rob Lewis had 12.
Travis Franklin had 11 points for the Rams, who dropped their sixth straight game. Marcus Walker, Willis Gardner and Adam Nigon each added nine.
Miles said the Rams entered the game with a plan in place—wear down the Pioneers with their inside presence.
But Colorado State struggled with its shooting inside the paint and the big men turned the ball over seven times in the first half.
At halftime, Colorado State ditched the idea and started shooting more from the perimeter. The Rams took a brief lead early in the second half, before the Pioneers rallied back.
Then Denver closed the game out at the line.
Not that Scott saw the flurry of free throws.
He was looking away.
