DENVER—The Denver Pioneers had New Orleans down before only to let a win slip away.
They didn’t let that happen again.
Rob Lewis had 20 points and Andrew Hooper scored 11 as the Pioneers beat New Orleans 59-49 on Saturday to end a seven-game skid against the Privateers.
On New Year’s Day, Denver led New Orleans by 11 with 10:16 left only to lose by two.
“It was kind of like deja vu,” Lewis said.
That loss six weeks ago extended the Pioneers’ futility against the Privateers, but coming close in Louisiana gave them confidence.
“We knew we could play with them and beat them,” Lewis said. “It was all about us playing our game.”
It was also about ending a losing streak to a Sun Belt Conference opponent. Coming off a tough loss to Florida Atlantic on Thursday, the Pioneers were hungry to get a win against the Privateers.
“I said, ‘These guys think they have our number.’ That’s why it was a big game,” Denver coach Joe Scott said. “Home game, league play. They can’t come here and feel like they have our number. We have to put an end to that stuff. Not because of the Sun Belt standings. We had to beat this team because we haven’t beat them in a while.”
In fact, no Denver player was on the roster the last time the program got a win against New Orleans.
Kyndall Dykes had 20 points for New Orleans, which has lost three straight and seven of nine.
Denver (11-14, 6-8), which had not beaten New Orleans since a 67-48 home win Jan. 5, 2006, used a 10-0 first-half run to take the lead for good. The Privateers (10-16, 5-10) went 7:03 without scoring before Dykes hit a jumper to end the drought.
New Orleans pulled within 32-28 with a 9-2 run to start the second half, but Lewis’ baseline dunk and 3-pointer extended the lead to 41-31 with 12:41 left. The Privateers never got closer than four the rest of the way.
