Nov. 26, 2005

Box Score

Kent State University outscored The University of Texas-Pan American, 49-35, in the second half to erase a two-point deficit as the Golden Flashes came away with an 82-70 victory to claim fifth place at the South Padre Island Invitational in South Padre Island, TX.

The Broncs came out of the gates strong in the first half by shooting 50.0 percent (10-20) from the field along with converting on 14-16 free throws to possess a two-point lead heading into intermission. The Golden Flashes' offense started slow as they only connected on 33.3 percent (12-36) of their shots.

In the second half, the roles were reversed as the Golden Flashes' defense stifled the Broncs' offense and held them to 31.8 percent (7-22) from the field while they connected on 56.7 percent (17-30) of their shots.

The Broncs' aggressive offensive style helped keep them in the game as they went to the free throw line 41 times and connecting on 34 of those attempts. The problem for UTPA came in the paint where the Broncs were outscored by a 34-12 margin, and in the turnover category where the Golden Flashes turned 22 miscues into 31 points.

Senior Derrick East (Binger, OK/Lookeba-Sickles H.S.) finished the game with a team-high 16 points on 4-6 shooting and 8-11 from the free throw line en route to earning South Padre Island Invitational All-Tournament Honors.

Dexter Shankle (Katy, TX/James E. Taylor H.S.) finished with 12 points while junior Colin Lien (Waterloo, IA/Southeastern C.C.) added 11 points and eight rebounds in 22 minutes of action. Sophomore Zach Trader (LaPorte, TX/LaPorte H.S.) finished with 10 points on 2-2 shooting and 6-6 from the free throw line to go along with four rebounds.

With the victory, Kent State evened its record to 2-2 in the new season while the Broncs fell to 2-3 on the season.

The Broncs will be back in action on Tuesday (Nov. 29) as they travel to Austin, TX, to compete against the second-ranked team in the nation, University of Texas. Tip off for the Broncs and Longhorns is set for 7:00 p.m.

UTPA Sports Information