What was billed as a milestone for men’s basketball at Magness Arena turned into something to sweep under the rug in hopes of it going away.
The culprit in the scenario Wednesday night was Northern Iowa’s Panthers, the first nationally ranked team to face the Pioneers on their home court since it opened in 1999.
There was no question that the Panthers (9-0) were the masters in a 65-55 triumph over the Pioneers (4-4), the final score hiding the visitors’ 88.2 percent shooting in the first half for a 17-point lead.
“That was quite a first half for us,” coach Ben Jacobson said of his 23rd-ranked Panthers. “We knew how hard it is to get points against Denver’s defense. We had a lot of different players step up and make plays. It was a great performance by our guys.”
Not a soul in the crowd of 1,545 would dispute Jacobson’s appraisal. Certainly not DU coach Joe Scott.
“It was all Northern Iowa in the first 10, 15 minutes of the game,” Scott said. “We knew they were a really good team, and you have to play a full 40 minutes against good teams. That’s what makes you become a good team.”
Nate Engresser and Cam Griffin led the Pioneers with 15 points apiece.
“To beat a team like that, you have to have a lot of guys play well,” Engresser said. “We didn’t do that, especially early.”
DU captain Brett Olson struggled through a miserable game. His playing time was cut by four fouls, but he managed just five points and didn’t score his first field goal until there was 3:45 left in the game.
The Panthers, who shot 70 percent, received double-figure scoring from four players, led by forward Seth Tuttle’s 12 points. Northern Iowa’s bench also outscored DU’s reserves 32-3.
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296, imoss@denverpost.com or
