The Denver Pioneers stay atop the West division in the Sun Belt Conference after beating the Arkansas State Red Wolves 66-52 on Thursday night. The victory bumps Denver up to 6-2 against conference opponents this season, the second-best record in the entire Sun Belt.
After taking a seven-point lead into halftime, Denver quickly stretched things out early in the second half. A quick 10-2 run by the Pioneers expanded the lead to 15 points, and things never got particularly close from there. Denver didn't shoot or rebound as well as Arkansas State, but took advantage of turnovers and hot shooting from long range.
Chris Udofia led the Pioneers with 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Brian Stafford also had an impressive game, scoring 15 points and snagging four steals. Malcoln Kirkland was the only scorer in double-digits for Arkansas State with 19 points.
The win pushes Denver up to 16-5 overall, easily the second-best overall record in the Sun Belt behind Middle Tennessee, which has a 19-2 record this season. The Pioneers haven't had a losing streak this season. After losing by 21 points in their first loss of the season to California, the average margin of defeat in Denver's past four losses is just 3.5 points.
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