Borrowing a little from the old and a little from the new proved a good combination Wednesday night for the Denver Pioneers, and it led to a closing seven minutes of the game that was high on coach Joe Scott’s assessment of a clutch victory.
The Pioneers (9-10, 3-3 Summit) scored the last 10 points of the game on the way to a come-from-behind 73-66 victory over Oral Roberts (10-9, 4-2) at Magness Arena.
A crowd of 1,482, again with little attendance from the Denver student body, couldn’t have asked for a more thrilling finish.
Trailing most of the game and 66-63 with 4:22 left to play, guard Jalen Love fought his way to a follow shot in a crowd under the basket, and the extra effort brought new life to the Pioneers.
Four points from Nate Engesser, two more by Love and two by Marcus Byrd followed to complete the 10-0 run.
Love’s last two points and the two by Byrd came on free throws in the final 22 seconds.
“We didn’t panic,” Love said. “I think we were down by 12, and we said we had to fight to the end. I was nervous on the free throws, I’m not going to lie. I had to make one, but I’m glad I was able to make both of them and help the team win.”
Engesser led the way with 18 points, including shooting 4-for-5 from 3-point range. Byrd finished with 11, including 6-for-6 from the free-throw line. Brett Olson dished out seven assists.
The Pioneers gave a nod to their previous strategy of 3-point field goals, making 9-of-17. And they added 28 points in the paint.
“Obviously Oral Roberts played really well,” Scott said. “We really weren’t staying with our stuff. But have you ever seen a better seven minutes?”
Indeed, the Pioneers finished the game on a 20-1 run.
Oral Roberts shot better than 70 percent from the floor in the first half and 61 percent for the game. Forward Denell Henderson scored 18 points, but the Golden Eagles’ offense wilted in the final minutes, missing its final five shots. They also missed 4-of-5 free throws and had three turnovers during the stretch.
The Pioneers were consistent from the floor, hitting 52.2 percent in the first half and 52.4 percent in the second half.
DU plays its next three games on the road before returning Feb. 7 to play Nebraska Omaha.
Guard Cam Griffin missed Wednesday night’s game because of breaking unspecified team rules. He’s expected to be back Saturday, when DU plays at Nebraska Omaha.
