HOT SPRINGS, Ark.—Sometimes, preparation doesn’t pay off.
At least that’s the way Denver coach Joe Scott saw it after his sixth-seeded Pioneers upset third-seeded Middle Tennessee 73-58 in the Sun Belt quarterfinals Sunday night. Denver had played the previous night, and the Blue Raiders had been off since Feb. 27 thanks to a first-round bye.
“This time of year, sometimes too much preparation isn’t good for you,” Scott said. “It’s better to just play basketball.”
Scott’s team did a good job of that. Nate Rohnert scored 16 points, and Denver made 10 of its first 11 field goals in the second half. The Pioneers (19-12) used an 11-0 run to break a 27-27 tie shortly after halftime.
Denver went 12 of 17 from the field after the break, shooting so well the Blue Raiders weren’t credited with a second-half rebound until there were under six minutes remaining. That was quite a feat for the Pioneers, who were outrebounded 32-26 in a loss to Middle Tennessee in February.
“They do a lot of great things, but they’re not a great rebounding team,” Middle Tennessee coach Kermit Davis said. “That’s the way they beat us—on the boards.”
Denver’s Chase Hallam had 13 points and six rebounds and didn’t miss a shot, going 3 of 3 from the field—all 3-pointers—and 4 of 4 from the free throw line.
Calvin O’Neil led Middle Tennessee with 14 points.
The win was a rare one for Denver away from home. The Pioneers were 15-1 at home this season. Denver plays North Texas in the semifinals Monday night.
Middle Tennessee’s largest lead was five points in the first half, but it was 25-25 at halftime. The Blue Raiders didn’t make a 3-pointer until Desmond Yates’ shot with just over 14 minutes to play in the game. That did little to slow Denver’s second-half surge.
“Anytime you get a game like this where it sort of got a little too much our way, they missed layups, some things sort of spiraled for them,” Scott said.
The Pioneers went on another run—this one 15-0—soon after Yates’ shot. With about 11 minutes to go, Rohnert received a give-and-go pass from Rob Lewis and made a sprawling layup despite being undercut. His ensuing free throw made it 43-32. The Pioneers eventually led by as many as 21.
“It’s tournament basketball,” Davis said. “You go through a 10- or 12-minute stretch like that, and they make you pay.”
