Maybe the biggest pep talk coach Joe Scott had with his University of Denver men’s basketball team wasn’t before Saturday’s Sun Belt Conference game against South Alabama.
Coming home from a pair of road losses in the Sun Belt race, the Pioneers’ spirits were lifted not only by being back at Magness Arena, but because of a bargain Scott proposed.
“I told the players we’d shorten our practices, but we expected something back from them,” Scott said. “I told our guys to go out there and execute. That’s how you build trust. We had a good week of practice, and it showed up on the court. It couldn’t have come at a better time for for us.”
The Pioneers (13-7, 6-3 Sun Belt) broke out of a slump and repaid the favor with a 71-48 victory over the Jaguars, paced by a sizzling 14-for-28 performance in long-range shooting.
Helped by Andrew Hooper, the Pioneers shot 50 percent from 3-point range and 52.1 percent overall in snapping a two-game Sun Belt losing streak. Hooper led DU with 15 points.
DU’s accuracy from behind the 3-point line had South Alabama coach Ronnie Arrow wondering if he wasted his time with a bulletin board message before the game.
“We had ‘defend the 3-point line’ up on the board as our key to the game,” Arrow said. “When the other team shoots 50 percent, that’s not defending the 3-point line.”
South Alabama (12-9, 4-5) responded with just one 3-pointer in eight tries. For the Pioneers, it was a long cast by Hooper with 13:37 left that stood out. The Jaguars had scored four straight points, all by Tim Williams, to cut DU’s lead to 42-31. Hooper’s 3-pointer lifted the Pioneers, who enjoyed leads of 20 points or more most of the remaining minutes.
“We came in today ready and prepared,” Hooper said. “We showed (Scott) that if he was going to give us leeway, we’d give him more focus.”
FG FT Reb
S. ALABAMA Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS
Brock 34 6-10 6-8 1-7 1 0 18
Carter 27 2-5 1-2 1-5 1 1 5
Sherrer 36 1-6 5-6 0-4 0 1 8
Cooks 32 0-5 1-2 0-1 1 4 1
Williams 32 5-11 4-6 2-8 1 3 14
CTabet 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
PTabet 13 1-2 0-0 1-1 0 3 2
Phillips 17 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Hersey 6 0-0 0-0 1-2 0 1 0
Guerrier 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 200 15-40 17-24 9-32 5 13 48
Percentages: FG .375, FT .708. 3-point goals: 1-8, .125 (Sherrer 1-3, Cooks 0-1, Brock 0-1, Williams 0-3). Team rebounds: 4. Blocked shots: 3 (Carter 2, Sherrer). Turnovers: 12 (Cooks 4, Sherrer 4, Phillips, Williams, Brock). Steals: 1 (Brock). Technical fouls: None.
FG FT Reb
DENVER Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS
Coughlin 11 1-2 3-4 0-1 1 2 6
Rohnert 28 3-8 2-2 1-6 3 1 9
CHallam 22 2-3 0-0 0-1 1 4 5
Stafford 33 5-12 0-0 0-0 1 2 12
KLewis 19 2-4 0-0 0-0 2 1 5
RLewis 19 3-4 0-0 0-5 2 2 8
Thalken 5 1-1 0-0 1-1 1 0 3
THallam 22 3-5 0-0 0-2 2 2 7
Chynoweth 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Pickert 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Chott 2 0-0 1-2 0-0 0 0 1
Chen 12 0-1 0-0 0-1 2 1 0
Hooper 23 5-8 1-1 0-2 1 4 15
Totals 200 25-48 7-9 2-21 16 19 71
Percentages: FG .521, FT .778. 3-point goals: 14-28, .500 (Hooper 4-6, R. Lewis 2-3, Stafford 2-8, Coughlin 1-1, Thalken 1-1, C. Hallam 1-2, T. Hallam 1-2, K. Lewis 1-2, Rohnert 1-3). Team rebounds: 2. Blocked shots: 6 (Coughlin 2, Hooper, C. Hallam, R. Lewis, Stafford). Turnovers: 4 (Rohnert, Coughlin, Stafford, Hooper). Steals: 5 (R. Lewis, Hooper, Pickert, Chott, Stafford). Technical fouls: None.
South Alabama 20 28 — 48
Denver 29 42 — 71
A — 3,210. Officials — Rick Jones, Mike Ashurst, Andy Brooks.
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com
