To say Chris Udofia made the Denver Pioneers a different team Saturday night at Magness Arena was an understatement.
The 6-foot-6 freshman from Irving, Texas, didn’t start for the Pioneers, but when he entered the game in both halves, he started an energy explosion that helped carry DU to a 71-68 triumph over the University of Northern Colorado before 3,460 fans.
Even though DU led from the 7:47 mark of the first half, the Bears stayed close. Free throws by UNC’sTaylor Montgomery with 25 seconds left cut DU’s lead to three points at 68-65, and the margin was down to three again with two seconds left on a 3-point field goal by the Bears’ Devon Beitzel.
“This is the first time we’ve had four or five players make contributions and play well,” DU coach Joe Scott said. “When you have five players play well, your chances of winning go up. That’s what happened today.”
But he couldn’t help but single out the effort by Udofia coming off the bench.
“He does things,” Scott said. “He can score in ways that others can’t. He showed some guts tonight. He missed a wide open 3, and the next time he bangs one. That’s pretty good for a freshman.”
Udofia finished with 14 points, fourth best among the Pioneers, but his presence on the floor added up to a bundle. After he entered the game in the first half, the Pioneers went on a 13-0 run and took a 27-20 lead. In the second half, his appearance triggered a 9-0 run and a 50-38 lead.
“I try to bring energy with the little things — rebounds, blocked shots,” Udofia said. “Little things like that can help fire up players and build momentum.”
“The story of our team is we don’t play with a sense of urgency until the chips are down,” UNC coach B.J. Hill said. “We didn’t communicate on our matchup zone in the second half.”
The Pioneers hit 6-of-10 3-pointers in the second half.
“Him (Udofia) coming off the bench gets us going,” DU guard Brian Stafford said. “He did that a lot for us today.”
NORTHERN COLORADO (4-5)
Kaba 2-8 4-5 10, Kingman 4-8 0-0 9, Montgomery 2-3 6-8 10, Lloyd 0-3 4-4 4, Beitzel 3-7 12-12 21, Addo 1-2 3-4 5, Garnica 4-7 0-0 9, Bedford 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-38 29-33 68.DENVER (3-9)
Hooper 1-2 3-4 6, Stafford 4-11 4-4 15, Thalken 1-2 0-0 2, T. Hallam 6-10 1-2 17, C. Hallam 5-7 4-5 15, K. Lewis 0-1 0-0 0, Coughlin 0-1 2-2 2, Udofia 5-10 3-5 14. Totals 22-44 17-22 71.
Halftime — Denver 29-27. 3-point goals —Northern Colorado 7-15 (Beitzel 3-6, Kaba 2-3, Garnica 1-2, Kingman 1-3, Lloyd 0-1), Denver 10-24 (T. Hallam 4-7, Stafford 3-8, C. Hallam 1-1, Hooper 1-2, Udofia 1-3, Thalken 0-1, K. Lewis 0-1, Coughlin 0-1). Fouled out —Coughlin, T. Hallam, Kingman, Thalken. Rebounds — Northern Colorado 32 (Montgomery 12), Denver 18 (Coughlin 4). Assists — Northern Colorado 8 (Lloyd 5), Denver 16 (T. Hallam 5). Total fouls — Northern Colorado 23, Denver 25. A — 3,460.
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com
