Nov. 25, 2003

EDINBURG, TEXAS-It rained indoors at the UTPA Fieldhouse Tuesday evening. It rained three-point field goals, and The University of Texas-Pan American's men's basketball team rode a near-record performance from beyond the arc to defeat Texas A&M-International, 90-50, in the second game of Tuesday night's doubleheader.

Junior guard Ray Castillo (San Antonio, TX/South San Antonio HS/Temple College) was the man of the hour for the Broncs. Castillo made eight of 11 three-point shots, tying him for second best on the all-time list. His eight treys were one short of the record nine made by Brian Merriweather at New Mexico December 8th, 1998, and he tied Merriweather, who made eight on three other occasions.

The Broncs made 16 shots from three-point range. That was one short of the record of 17 at Texas Tech December 17, 1998.

Castillo and the Broncs got started early. His first two three-pointers gave Texas-Pan American a 19-7 advantage with 12:54 to play in the first half. Junior guard Sergio Sanchez (San Antonio, TX/South San Antonio HS/Temple College) and Castillo each contributed a pair of treys as the Broncs outscored the Dustdevils, 16-2 to take a commanding 41-15 lead with 3:24 remaining before halftime. Junior guard Zach Weir (Waxahachie, TX/Waxahachie HS/Hill College) and junior forward Chris Fagan (Bronx, NY/Storm King HS/Trinidad HS) added threes as the Broncs took a 47-20 lead at halftime.

Texas-Pan American added eight more three-pointers in the second half. Castillo hit the Broncs' first and last three-pointers of the half, connecting on the final one for UTPA's final points with 1:29 remaining.

Castillo finished 9-12 from the field, and 8-11 from beyond the arc to lead all scorers with 26 points. Senior forward Andrius Sakalys (Vilnius, Lithuania/M.Dauksos HS/Eastern Oklahoma State) added 11 points and Fagan contributed 10 as all but one of the 13 Broncs who played scored. Sakalys and senior forward Allen Holcomb (Chicago, IL/Steinmetz HS/Allen County CC) each grabbed seven rebounds as Texas-Pan American outrebounded TAMIU, 47-28. D.J. Firova had 17 points to lead the Dustdevils.

"We got some separation early, and I think that made a difference," said UTPA Head Coach Bob Hoffman. "They've played a lot of tough games, and they gave a great effort, but we've only played one game and we were ready because of what happened Saturday night. Ray made some good shots from deep, and our guys did a good job of finding him. We had a lot of different guys step up and make some plays, and we had good balance. Chris Fagan and Allen (Holcomb) both started, and they each got off to a good start."
The Broncs won for the first time this season, and improved to 1-1 with the victory, while Texas A&M-International fell to 1-4 with the defeat. Texas-Pan American will return to action when they host Texas-Arlington Saturday night in the second game of a doubleheader. The Lady Broncs play St. Edward's in the opener.