Nov. 23, 2004
Box Score
1958 proved to be a popular year for some of the most widely-known creations and inventions that people still love and adore even in the 21st century.
That year produced the creation of the hula hoop and laser along with memorable television shows such as `Leave It to Beaver' and `Alvin and The Chipmunks.'
It was also the year that new head coach Sam Williams captured his first victory with the Pan American Broncs in an 86-49 triumph over Monterrey Tech.
Forty-six years and seven head coaches later, Robert Davenport joined the company of Williams as he won his debut game as the leader of the Broncs with a 76-59 victory over Texas A&M - International at the UTPA Fieldhouse on Tuesday (Nov. 22).
Trailing 35-33 at halftime, the UTPA's game began at the start of the second half. The Broncs came out with a newly-lit spark that allowed them to outscore their opponents by a 43-24 margin. After six tied scores, the Broncs were able to get the advantage on the Dustdevils when junior Derrick East (Binger, OK/Lookeba-Sickles H.S.) took a pass from Matt Berry (Tulsa, OK/Indiana State University) in the paint and deposited two of his 10 points to give UTPA a 41-39 lead. It turned out to be an advantage on the scoreboard that UTPA would not relinquish for the remainder of the game.
"We didn't execute in the first half, and that was my fault because we switched up the starting lineup," said Davenport. "We put our normal lineup back for the start of the second half, and we looked a lot better."
One of the main reasons why the Dustdevils had problems recapturing the lead came in the hands of senior point guard Sergio Sanchez (San Antonio, TX/Temple College), who scored a career-high 31 points on the evening. In his hot shooting performance, Sanchez drained eight three-pointers, which was the second highest single-game total in program history. He also became the first player since Kevin Mitchell in 2003 to score 30 ore more points in a contest - a span of 34 games.
"Sergio played exactly like we thought he would play. If you give him an open shot, he's going to take and will probably make it. He's a dangerous, dangerous player," added Davenport.
The Broncs were able to up their lead to 10 points at the 8:36 mark when East buried his only three-pointer of the contest from the corner. The assist went to Berry, who tied a career-high with five assists while notching 13 points. UTPA drained 10 three-pointers and shot 42 percent from behind the arc compared to the Dustdevils' five treys.
"We have some guys that can shoot the ball. Obviously, Sergio had a great night shooting, but also Castillo, Berry and East can all shoot the three. If you let those guys get a good look at the hoop then they're going to take advantage of it, and we did tonight," Davenport stated.
UTPA was able to cruise for the remainder of the game, receiving its biggest lead of 18 points at the 3:09 mark when Chris Fagan (Bronx, NY/Trinidad State College) made two of his seven points on a shot from the paint. The Broncs held a distinct advantage in the paint in large part due to 7-0 center Alvaidas Gedminas (Plunge, Lithuania/Kirtland Community College), who collected six points and 11 rebounds. The Broncs had 19 offensive rebounds in the game and capitalized with 18 second chance points.
Kyle Edwards collected a double-double (points-rebounds) for the Dustdevils with a 13-point, 14-rebound performance while Gabe Weinholtz and Hector Garza each added eight points in the game.
With the victory, the Broncs improved to 1-0 on the season while Texas A&M - International dropped to 0-3.
The Broncs will be back in action on Saturday (Nov. 27) at Southwest Missouri State with game time slated for 1:05 p.m.
UTPA Sports Information
