The backdoor layup is a product of the Princeton offense, and Denver’s Nate Rohnert knows how to work it.
With DU’s lead down to four points and the Pioneers playing sluggishly in the second half, Rohnert struck with less than 14 minutes left. His backdoor layup started a 12-8 run, and the Pioneers (11-5) sealed a 75-66 victory Thursday night over New Orleans (6-10) at Magness Arena.
The victory boosted the Pioneers to 4-1 in Sun Belt Conference play, with another big game Sunday against Western Kentucky, the preseason favorite to win the league.
“We have a tendency when we get the lead to let teams get back in,” Rohnert said of his key shot. “When it got down a little bit, we wanted to dig in and get a bucket. Once we got that, we got more comfortable and got some more easy looks. We had a lot of guys make some big plays.”
The 3-point shooting by New Orleans’ Charles Carmouche and Devin McDonald kept the Privateers in the game. But Rohnert’s 27 points and a 15-point boost from Brian Stafford kept Denver buzzing.
“When we’re playing well, we’re hard to guard,” DU coach Joe Scott said. “We have players who can do a lot of things. When we take care of the basketball, we get good shots.”
A 3-point field goal by Rob Lewis with 7:22 left stretched DU’s lead to 55-45. Rohnert’s 3-pointer with 4:31 left put DU up 62-54.
“They do a good job executing their offense,” New Orleans coach Joe Pasternack said. “They get shots inside, outside and in off penetration.”
The Pioneers put together their best performance of the first half over the last 8:23. With Stafford and Lewis the leaders, DU came from 15-12 down to lead 29-21 at halftime.
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com
