DENVER—Just before taking the court, the Denver Pioneers found out they wouldn’t have Joe Scott on the bench.
Instead of wilting, the players won for their head coach.
Nate Rohnert scored 15 points, Sabatino Chen and Chase Hallam had 12 each and Denver beat Arkansas State 64-55 on Thursday.
Martavius Adams led Arkansas State with 17 points and Brandon Reed had 11.
Scott was suspended for one game by the Sun Belt Conference for his ejection against Northern Colorado on Monday. Assistant Mike McKee coached the team against the Red Wolves.
Scott told the team right before pre-game warmups he was suspended for his actions Monday, but the players didn’t miss a step without their leader.
“He told us we really didn’t need him out there,” Rohnert said. “We really wanted to fight for coach Scott because he fought for us last game.”
The Pioneers (10-4, 3-0 Sun Belt) were hot from 3-point range early, hitting three of their first three from long range to take a lead they never relinquished. They led 19-8 before the Red Wolves (6-6, 1-1) used an 8-0 run to close within three with 8:05 left in the first half.
Denver responded with a run of its own. Leading 26-20, the Pioneers scored the last eight points of the first half, the last on an emphatic dunk by Hallam with 23 seconds left before the break.
Hallam scored 10 points in the first half for the Pioneers, who never trailed.
“Coach Scott did a very good job of not letting (his absence) affect the team,” McKee said. “The way we practice and prepare made it a very easy transition.”
Denver’s defense was stingy, holding Arkansas State scoreless in the last 5:15 of the first half and to about 40 percent shooting in the first 20 minutes.
The Red Wolves, who shot just 38 percent for the game, cut the lead to 38-28 with 12:51 left in the game, but the Pioneers again responded.
Rob Lewis and Chen had layups to spark an 8-1 run that pushed the lead to 46-30 midway through the second half.
With their season’s leading scorer, Daniel Bryant, on the bench, Arkansas State trimmed the lead to nine with 3:59 left but they couldn’t get any closer until a 3-pointer with 4.4 seconds cut the lead to 62-55.
The Red Wolves were hoping to get a spark from the return of Bryant, who sat out the last game with a separated shoulder. Instead, he aggravated the injury in the first half, playing only six minutes and scoring five points—nearly 10 below his season average.
It was another setback for Arkansas State, who lost senior guard Donald Boone four minutes into the season opener Nov. 16.
“He dislocated his shoulder again and they couldn’t get it back in place,” Red Wolves coach John Bradley said of Bryant. “Right now I think he’s going to be out several weeks. Now we’re down to eight, nine guys. It’s been a challenge.”
Denver is 3-0 in the Sun Belt Conference for the first time in four seasons.
