March 1, 2005
Box Score
The University of Texas-Pan American men's basketball program suffered a 78-61 setback at New Mexico State University in its season finale on Tuesday (Mar. 1) in Las Cruces, NM.
Unlike their previous game against IPFW, the Broncs were able to jump on the Aggies early and held a six-point advantage at 17-11 with 12:04 remaining in the first half following a three-pointer from senior Ray Castillo (San Antonio, TX/Temple College). That three-pointer was Castillo's 116th career trey, which allowed him to pass Mire Chatman for sixth place on UTPA's all-time three-point field goals list.
However - UTPA went on a scoring drought being out-scored 24-5 over the course of the next five minutes, which was capped off by a dunk by Byron Davis to make the score 35-24 with 4:17 remaining. The Aggies would cruise into the intermission with a 37-29 lead.
In the second half, the Broncs were able to cut the deficit to five points at 42-37 with 17:21 left in the game when Sergio Sanchez (San Antonio, TX/Temple College) drove the lane for an easy lay-in. Sanchez led all Bronc scorers with 16 points on 5-16 shooting, including 3-11 from behind the arc, in his final collegiate game.
New Mexico State would respond similar to its first half performance with a 20-8 run before the 8:00 mark in the second half. With the score at 62-45, the Broncs would make one final run late in the game to cut the lead to nine points at 66-57 with 2:46 remaining after a lay-in from Castillo, who finished with 10 points in the game.
Unfortunately for the Broncs, New Mexico State proved to be too strong on the inside as the Aggies recorded eight of their final 12 points in the paint. When the clock reached zero and the collegiate careers of seven Bronc seniors ended, the scoreboard showed favoritism towards the home team as Aggies captured the 78-61 victory.
New Mexico State, who shot 41.5 percent (27-65) in the game, was led offensively by a 19-point performance from guard Allen Haynes. Trevor Lawrence finished with 18 points and seven rebounds in 21 minutes of action while Duane John collected 14 points and six rebounds.
Senior Matt Berry (Tulsa, OK/Indiana State University) notched a nine-point, six-rebound performance in his final game. Chris Fagan (Bronx, NY/Trinidad State College) finished with seven points and six rebounds while Alvaidas Gedminas (Plunge, Lithuania/Kirtland Community College) racked up seven points and eight rebounds.
The Broncs shot 37.7 percent (23-61) from the field, but were held to 21.7 percent from behind the three-point arc, finishing with a 5-23 performance. UTPA was also out-rebounded by the Aggies by a 45-40 margin.
With the 2004-05 season in the history books, the Broncs finished their season with a 12-16 record.
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