Nov. 22, 2003

EDINBURG, TX-Southern Methodist outscored The University of Texas-Pan American's men's basketball team, 7-1, during a key four-minute stretch late in the second half and held on for a 69-59 victory in the 2003-2004 season opener at the South Padre Island Convention Center Saturday evening.

Justin Isham and Eric Castro hit jumpers to help the Mustangs pull away after Texas-Pan American had cut SMU's lead to two points, 51-49, with 8:21 remaining on a jump shot by senior forward Allen Holcomb (Chicago, IL/Steinmetz HS/Allen County CC). The Broncs didn't score from the field again until sophomore forward Derrick East (Binger, OK/Lookeba-Sickles HS) hit a jumper with 1:45 left to cut the Mustangs' advantage to 59-53. SMU converted eight of ten free throws down the stretch to secure their victory.

Southern Methodist grabbed the early lead, and had an 11-point advantage, 33-22, with 2:13 to play in the first half. The Broncs came right back, scoring eight of the final nine points before halftime. Junior guard Sergio Sanchez (San Antonio, TX/South San Antonio HS/Temple College) hit a pair of three-pointers, and junior forward Matt Berry (Tulsa, OK/Booker T. Washington HS/Indiana State) added a jump shot as the Broncs cut the lead to 34-30 at intermission.

Sanchez had 14 points to lead the Broncs, and Berry added 12. Berry added six rebounds and six steals, and junior guard Zach Weir (Waxahachie, TX/ Waxahachie HS/Hill College) added five assists. Isham had 25 points for SMU to lead all scorers, while Bryan Hopkins had 15 and Eric Castro added 11.

"We played with great effort and great intensity, but we needed to execute a little better," said UTPA Head Coach Bob Hoffman. "When you're playing against a veteran team, you have to get the lead and then make them play from behind, and we had four bad possessions in the second half when we didn't even get a shot off. I think we learned a little bit about ourselves tonight. There were some possessions where we had to face three different defenses on the same possession. I certainly can't fault our effort, I thought we came out and played hard."

SMU improved to 1-0 with the victory, while the Broncs fell to 0-1 with the defeat. Texas-Pan American will return to action when they open at home Tuesday evening against Texas A&M-International. Game time is 7:30 p.m. following the women's game against the Dustdevils.