Nov. 29, 2003

EDINBURG, TX-For 38 minutes, The University of Texas-Pan American's basketball team had Texas-Arlington exactly where they wanted them in their game at the UTPA Fieldhouse Saturday evening. But the Mavericks scored 11 of the game's final 13 points and came from behind to defeat the Broncs, 81-75.

Junior forward Matt Berry's (Tulsa, OK/Booker T. Washington HS/Indiana State) jump shot gave the Broncs their second three-point lead of the waning moments, 73-70, with 2:25 remaining. But Derrick Obasohan's three-pointer 19 seconds later tied the game for the final time, and Texas-Arlington then took possession on a charging foul against junior guard Sergio Sanchez (San Antonio, TX/South San Antonio HS/Temple College). Steven Thomas' layup with 1:31 remaining gave the Mavericks the lead for good. Obasohan added four free throws and Keith Howell made two in the final minute to allow UTA to preserve their lead.

The Mavericks jumped out on top early, building an 11-point lead, 26-15, with 7:25 remaining in the first half. But the Broncs came back, using two layups and a dunk by junior forward Chris Fagan (Bronx, NY/Storm King HS/Trinidad State) to ignite an 18-7 run. Junior guard Eric Montalvo (La Joya, TX/La Joya HS) capped the run with a three-pointer to give UTPA a 35-33 advantage with 2:26 remaining. Fagan's free three sent the teams to the locker room tied at intermission at 38.

The Broncs took the lead at the start of the second half. A layup by senior Andrius Sakalys (Vilnius, Lithuania/M. Dauksos HS/Eastern Oklahoma State) gave Texas-Pan American a 52-46 lead with 13:19 remaining. The Mavericks fought back to take the lead two minutes later, and the teams battled back and forth down the stretch until the final, critical sequence at the end.

Berry led the Broncs with 22 points, Montalvo added 13, and senior forward Allen Holcomb (Chicago, IL/Steinmetz HS/Allen County CC) contributed 11. Berry, Holcomb and Montalvo each grabbed six rebounds as the Broncs outrebounded UTA, 35-32. Thomas led the Mavericks with 23 points, Obasohan added 22, Keith Howell had 14, and Brady Dawkins tossed in 10.

"We played hard, but we just didn't respond that well when we needed to," said UTPA Head Coach Bob Hoffman. "They just beat us. We only shot four of 19 on threes, we just didn't make the plays when we needed to, and we sent them to the line too much. We just have to do a better job of executing when we need to."

The Broncs fell to 1-2 with the defeat, while Texas-Arlington improved to 1-2. UTPA will return to action when they host the Southwestern Assemblies of God Monday evening at 7:30 p.m.