The Pioneers hit twenty 3-pointers, a school record, and fell in a tight contest on the road to IPFW, 84-87.

The Denver Pioneers (13-13) dropped a road contest to IPFW (20-7) in Fort Waytne this evening. DU played the Mastodons (10-1 home) tough and made it a game. Max Landis for IPFW hit seven 3’s and Marcus Byrd hammered home eight trays from beyond the arc. Nate Engesser pumped in another six 3’s. The Pioneers shot an incredible 62.5% from three point territory while the Mastodons shot an even more unbelievable 66.7% from the arc. Thirty two 3- point shots by both teams led to 96 points, 56% of the total points scored in the game.

The hot shooting did not end there. DU shot 59.3% from the field while IPFW filled up the net 62.5% of the time.

DU trailed at half 31-35.

The Pio’s held close on rebounds, 20-23, but came out of the contest with  an offensive effort that should have produced a win. DU played without freshman starter Joe Rosga with a knee bruise – but freshman Thomas Neff, continually improving, lit up the stat sheet with 19 points and 3 rebounds. C.J. Bobbitt had 6 assists and a steal. The Pioneers best player on the floor was Marcus Byrd who kept the Pioneers close with a great game – 28 points and three rebounds in 40 minutes of play. His counter-attack threes kept bringing DU back – but not far enough.

While DU made a second half push, IPFW responded to every challenge. This was simply a shoot out – with DU on the short end. The effort continues to be high. DU traded punches with the Mastodons but despite all the threes, points in the paint may have been the difference. IPFW outscoring DU 18-30 in the paint  contributing in a big way to their 62.5% shooting from the field.

DU’s next game is a road trip to Oral Roberts on Friday, Feb. 19