The Clarion

Issue date: 2/20/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Jacob Rokeach Senior guard DeShawn Walker sinks a jumper in a recent home game. Walker and the Pioneers have one last regular season game before entering the SBC Tournament. [Click to enlarge]

Once again, it was a difficult week for the struggling Pioneer men's basketball team. The Pioneers earned their 22nd and 23rd losses of the season as they dropped a pair of SBC games last weekend at Magness Arena.

On Thursday, the Pioneers couldn't get past a strong shooting performance by North Texas University and lost 78-65. It didn't get much better when the Pioneers played on Saturday, when the Pioneers fell just short of earning their fifth win of the season with a narrow 67-65 loss to the University of Louisiana-Lafayette.

The Pioneers came out sluggish at the beginning of Thursday night's contest, and NTU Mean Green (17-9, 8-7 SBC) took full advantage.

NTU shot a blistering 53.1 percent from the floor in the first half, which included an impressive 8-21 on three pointers, putting the Pioneers into an early hole.

Before Pioneer junior center Adam Tanner drained a three point shot with 6:32 remaining, NTU had scored 12 straight points, building a 19 point lead.

However, the Pioneers did end the first half on a 12-4 run, decreasing the NTU lead to 10, giving them a faint sense of hope heading into halftime.

At the start of the second half, the Pioneers came out with a new found enthusiasm. Senior forward Antonio Porch hit an early layup and Tanner buried another three pointer to bring the lead back down to seven points with 17:55 left to play.

Unfortunately for the Pioneers, the seven point deficit would be as close as they ever came to upending NTU, as the Mean Green continued their hot shooting, thwarting any hope of a DU comeback.

The Pioneers, who shot a meager 34.4 percent on the night, were no match for the Mean Green's depth and balance, as they had five players score in double figures.

Tanner hit all five of the Pioneers three-point shots in the game and finished with a career high 21 points. Porch finished with his first double-double of the season after notching 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Continued...

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