DENVER, November 15 – The Colorado 14ers opened the 2007-2008 NBA Development League’s Pre-Season schedule with a 103-74 win over the Austin Toros on Thursday night. Colorado pulled away in the fourth quarter, outscoring Austin 31-5 in the final period to take the victory.

“Our defense was better than I thought it would be in our first effort after just seven practices,” said 14ers Head Coach Joe Wolf. “We still have a lot of work to do, but I was glad to see us recover from all of our turnovers and win the game.”

Kaniel Dickens led the way for the 14ers, scoring 19 points and pulling down seven rebounds in just 23 minutes of action. Julian Sensley also had a big night in his Colorado debut, pouring in 19 points and pulling down nine boards. Three other 14ers scored in double figures with Elton Brown and Terrence Crawford chiming in with 12 each, and Brian Greene adding 11 for Colorado.

Austin was led by Keith Langford’s 20 point effort. After a red-hot start scoring 12 points in the first six minutes of the game, Langford was held to just eight the rest of the way by the Colorado defense. Justin Bowen added 16 points and eight rebounds for the Toros, and Kevin Pittsnogle and Patrick Fields finished with 10 points apiece.

Next up for the Toros is the regular season opener on Friday, November 23 on the road against the expansion Rio Grande Valley Vipers.