Feb. 7, 2004

FORT WAYNE, IN-In the last 10 minutes of their game Saturday afternoon, The University of Texas-Pan American's men's basketball team nearly undid what they spent the first 30 minutes building against host Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne. However, the Broncs rallied, extended their lead and held off a late rally to defeat the host Mastodons, 57-55, and earn a sweep of the two-game season's series.

Texas-Pan American scored the first eight points of the second half and led, 38-24, with 13:43 remaining. IPFW used a 9-0 run to reduce UTPA's lead to 44-39 with 5:39 remaining, and then got a layup from David Simon and a three-pointer from Beau Bauer to cut the lead to 46-44 with 3:48 left. But Simon made one of two free throws, and, moments later, Bronc senior forward Allen Holcomb (Chicago, IL/ Steinmetz HS/Allen County CC) ripped away an offensive rebound, converted a layup, drew a foul and sank the free throw to allow Texas-Pan American to build their lead back to four points at 49-45. The Broncs made eight free throws down the stretch, and the Mastodons got treys from Bauer and Tyler Clevenger in the final 12 seconds to bring IPFW within a single point at 56-55. Junior guard Eric Montalvo (La Joya, TX/La Joya HS) made a free throw with three seconds remaining, and the Mastodons were unable to get off a final shot before time expired.

"We had a big lead, and they hit some threes, and some shots that they hadn't been making," said UTPA Head Coach Bob Hoffman. "Allen's play was a big momentum play. It could have been a jump ball, and he ripped the ball away, scored and got fouled, and it put us back ahead by four."

The Broncs had used an 11-3 run midway through the first half to take a 17-10 lead, and held the lead through the rest of the first 20 minutes. Junior guard Sergio Sanchez (San Antonio, TX/ South San Antonio HS/Temple College) ignited the run with a three-pointer, junior forward Chris Fagan (Bronx, NY/Storm King HS/Trinidad State) added a jump shot and a pair of free throws, and junior center Alvaidas Gedminas (Plunge, Lithuania/Laivite HS/Kirtland CC) capped the run with two free throws and a layup. The Mastodons got a jumper from David Simon and a three-pointer from Brandon Jennings to close the gap, but Holcomb connected on a pair of layups to keep Texas-Pan American in front, and a trey and a pair of free throws by Sanchez allowed the Broncs to take a 28-22 advantage to the locker room.

Sanchez led Texas-Pan American with 17 points, while Fagan added 10 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double. Holcomb had nine points and seven rebounds, while senior forward Andrius Sakalys (Vilnius, Lithuania/M. Dauksos HS/Eastern Oklahoma State) had nine points and five boards.

Simon had 20 points and 15 rebounds for IPFW, and Bauer added 12 points and seven boards. The Broncs outrebounded the Mastodons, 41-39, and won despite making only 33.3 per cent of their shots from the field. They held IPFW to 35.7 per cent.

"It was a very physical game, and Allen did a real good job guarding inside," said Hoffman. "Alvaidas gave us some real good minutes as well. Chris had some real big rebounds at the end, and Sergio hit a few big threes. Our confidence level is at a high point right now, and it was great that were able to finish it, and find a way to get it done."

Texas-Pan American improved to 9-13 with the victory, while the Mastodons fell to 3-19 with the defeat. The Broncs will return to action when they host Arkansas State Wednesday evening.