DU took on Idaho State (2-2) this afternoon in a matinee match-up. Idaho State, coming off wins against University of Great Falls and Dickinson and a close loss to Washington State University in Pullman, WA journeyed to Magness Arena.
In the first half, DU shooting was red hot with over 60% shooting on FG's and 3's. Nate Engesser, C. J. Bobbitt, and Joe Rosga played a great first half and held Idaho State's scoring leaders, Ethan Telfair and Ali Faruq-Bey, to four points total. Daniel Amigo returned from a foot injury and played significant minutes. DU led 41-30 at half.
In the second half, Marcus Byrd and C. J. Bobbit ran into early foul trouble but the team, behind Rosga and Engesser, kept hitting key shots. Jake Pemberton and Bryant Rucker played steady, effective ball the second half as well. DU missed a number of free throws in the second half but pesky defense and timely baskets countered Idaho's big men scoring from inside.
Rosga finished with 20 points with a deft inside-outside shooting touch. Engesser scored 24. Bobbitt, especially in the first half, showed the athleticism and inside skills that DU has been missing in recent years. The DU coaching staff continues to play 11 players deep.
If you haven't seen this team play, you should. They just may have the building blocks, especially with Rosga and Bobbitt, to form an important nucleus for the University of Denver going forward.
If you haven't seen this team play, you should. They just may have the building blocks, especially with Rosga and Bobbitt, to form an important nucleus for the University of Denver going forward.
2 comments:
Idaho State is not UCLA or Kentucky, but we'll take the win. The Pios freshmen are developing before our eyes. Rosga had a breakout, statement game. Exactly the kind of scrappy, hard-nosed gym rat player that Scott loves.
Gotta work on those free throws. DU left 16 points on the table with 25-41 F/T shooting.
I'll take consistent wins over D1 programs of any level. Young team needs to learn to close out games and theyre doing a great job so far. Litmus test next week against AFA and Wyo.
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