Tied for the NCAA’s seventh-longest winning streak at home and on the heels of the recent announcement of its big move to the Western Athletic Conference in 2012, all signs pointed to a big night for the University of Denver men’s basketball team Thursday night.
Instead, Colorado State steered the Pioneers away from their usual success at Magness Arena, winning the regional rivalry game 77-66 to pin DU with its second straight home-opening loss.
The Pioneers (0-4), who began with three losses in a tournament at Oregon last week, went 15-1 at home last season and are 36-8 in coach Joe Scott’s four-year tenure.
“They were more physical than us. It’s something we have to get better at. It wasn’t a pretty basketball game,” Scott said. “It was kind of an ugly game, and our team has to learn how to win ugly basketball games.”
The Rams (2-0) were led by seniors Travis Franklin (22 points) and Andy Ogide (15) and sophomore Pierce Hornung (11), who each shot better than 50 percent from the field. Franklin was 8-of-13, Ogide 6-of-10 and Hornung 4-of-4.
CSU, which shot 62.5 percent to build a 38-34 halftime lead, outscored DU 16-7 to open the second half and breezed from there.
“Three guys really hurt us,” Scott said. “Those guys played well, their older guys played well. You have to give them credit for that.”
At the outset, DU made five of its first seven shots to take an 11-2 lead. Justin Coughlin and Brian Stafford each were 2-of-2 from the field before the Rams called a timeout and then rallied for a 9-0 run to tie it at 11. CSU took an 18-16 lead and never trailed again.
“We just needed to keep our composure. It was their first game at home and they had the long streak here, so we knew they were going to come out with a lot of energy,” Ogide said. “Once we got going, we felt good.”
Stafford paced DU with 26 points, and Chase Hallam added 13 despite missing 10-of-13 field goals. The Pioneers, who shot 44.7 percent, played without 6-foot-7 senior Rob Lewis (back injury).
COLORADO ST. (2-0)
Franklin 8-13 6-10 22, McFarland 0-2 0-0 0, Ogide 6-10 3-6 15, Eikmeier 3-6 1-2 9, Green 1-2 0-0 3, Hornung 4-4 2-2 11, Carr 2-6 5-6 10, Nigon 1-1 0-0 3, Bell 1-1 0-0 2, D. Smith 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 27-46 17-26 77.
DENVER (0-4)
Coughlin 4-5 0-0 9, C. Hallam 3-13 7-10 13, Udofia 2-4 2-2 6, Noonan 0-4 0-0 0, Stafford 8-10 8-9 26, K. Lewis 1-3 2-2 5, Thalken 0-0 0-0 0, Foeman 0-0 0-0 0, T. Hallam 2-4 0-0 5, Hooper 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 21-47 19-23 66.
Halftime — Colorado St. 38-34. 3-point goals — Colorado St. 6-11 (Eikmeier 2-3, Nigon 1-1, Hornung 1-1, Carr 1-1, Green 1-2, Ogide 0-1, McFarland 0-2), Denver 5-10 (Stafford 2-2, K. Lewis 1-1, Coughlin 1-1, T. Hallam 1-2, Noonan 0-2, C. Hallam 0-2). Fouled out — Eikmeier, Udofia. Rebounds — Colorado St. 27 (Franklin 6), Denver 25 (C. Hallam, Noonan 5). Assists — Colorado St. 8 (Franklin 2), Denver 9 (C. Hallam 4). Total fouls — Colorado St. 24, Denver 23. Technical fouls — Ogide, Hooper. A — 4,851.
Mike Chambers: 303-954-1357 or mchambers@denverpost.com
