Jan. 29, 2005
Box Score
It took only three games before the faithful of The University of Texas-Pan American men's basketball team watched in amazement as senior Sergio Sanchez (San Antonio, TX/Temple College) returned to his old form with a game-high, 23-point performance - all coming in the second half.
"It was awesome to see him back out there," said head coach Robert Davenport. "He took over the game in the second half and hit several big shots, but the most important ones were the ones he hit heading to the basket. You could see it in his eyes tonight that he was ready to turn it loose."
With the aid of Sanchez and junior Derrick East (Binger, OK/Lookeba-Sickles H.S.), the Broncs evened their record at 10-10 after handing Northern Colorado a 77-72 setback at the UTPA Fieldhouse on Saturday (Jan. 29).
East was a major factor for the Broncs on the inside as he scored a career-high 20 points on 7-9 shooting and 6-7 from the free throw line. The 6-9 forward also added a team-high six rebounds along with a pair of blocks in 23 minutes of action.
"Derrick took shots that they gave him. He's a terrific shooter from anywhere on the floor, and tonight he hit at least four jumpers from 8-10 feet unguarded. I was extremely pleased with his performance," added Davenport.
In a tightly-played, frequently-heard referee's whistle first half, the Broncs were able to take a four-point advantage at 28-24. The Broncs built their lead to 11 points midway through the half following an East jumper at 48-37 before the Bears were able to slowly chip away at the lead. Northern Colorado behind the three-point shooting of guards Matt Kline and Sean Nolan were able to cut the deficit to a pair of points at 54-52 with 7:32 remaining in the game.
With each team trading shot for shot during the remainder of the second part of the half, the Broncs were able to keep the lead in large part to their clutch free throw shooting down the stretch. The Broncs converted on eight of 12 free throws at the end of the game to seal the victory.
Northern Colorado wouldn't go away easily as Nolan, who had a team-high 22 points, connected on his fifth three-pointer to cut the lead to two points at 72-70 with 36 seconds remaining. However after a pair of free throws from Sanchez, the Bears threw up one last desperation three-pointer that fell short as the Broncs escaped with a 77-72 victory.
The Broncs shot 50 percent (25-50) in the game compared to 46 percent (24-52) for Northern Colorado. UTPA also held the advantage on the boards by a 34-30 margin.
Chris Fagan (Bronx, NY/Trinidad State College) added 11 points for the Broncs while Alvaidas Gedminas (Plunge, Lithuania/Kirtland Community College) notched nine points and four rebounds.
The Broncs will be back in action on Monday (Jan. 31) against IPFW at the UTPA Fieldhouse with game time set for 7:30 p.m.
UTPA Sports Information
