Jan. 21, 2006
Box Score
The University of Texas-Pan American men's basketball team found out the hard way that games are not won on a stat sheet.
The Broncs dominated IPFW in almost every statistical category, but the Mastodons still managed to snap UTPA's three-game winning streak with a 61-56 victory at the UTPA Fieldhouse on Saturday (Jan. 21).
"It's amazing that we can out-play them in every statistical category and still come up short," said head men's basketball coach Robert Davenport. "The biggest difference in the game was that we had trouble putting the ball in the basket, and that was the ball game. You are going to have trouble winning games when you shoot in 30-percent range, and we found that out today."
The Mastodons fell behind by five points early in the contest following a jumper by Kano Edwards (Bridgeport, CT/Western Nebraska C.C.) to make the game 9-4 with 16:23 remaining in the game. However - IPFW never panicked and was able produced a 13-0 run a few minutes later to take a 23-11 lead at the 9:21 mark.
Following a three-pointer by Scott DeWitt, the Mastodons built up their biggest lead of the game at 14 points, 33-19, with 5:07 remaining in the first half. The Broncs were able to cut into the lead and got it under double digits at 36-27 after a three-pointer by Dexter Shankle (Katy, TX/James E. Taylor H.S.) with 1:24 left in the first frame.
The Mastodons held a 38-30 lead heading into intermission after shooting 53.6 percent (15-28) compared to 38.7 percent (12-31) by the Broncs. IPFW connected on six three-pointers during that first stanza while UTPA recorded four treys on its part.
"I told our guys that we can not let them come in here and play harder than us. For the most part, I thought that we played harder than them, and it showed when our guys fought back from 10 points," said Davenport.
In the second half, the Broncs continued to fight their way back into the game as they cut the deficit to six points at the 14:48 mark following a trey connection by Cori Gaither (Jacksonville, FL/Southwestern C.C.). After trading shots over the next six minutes, Gaither once again helped the Broncs cut the lead to three points at 51-48 with 7:29 remaining in the game.
The Mastodons once again built the lead to seven points at 55-48 with 4:51 remaining in the game following a pair of free throws by DeWitt, who finished with a game-high 18 points.
UTPA point guard Larry Sheppard (Baton Rouge, LA/Iowa Western C.C.) had trouble finding the bottom of the hoop throughout the game, but he came up with his four points in the final minute of the game to cut the lead to one point at 57-56 with 24 seconds remaining in the game.
After a pair of free throws by Brad Pompey to give the Mastodons a three-point lead at 59-56 with 22 seconds remaining in the contest, the Broncs attempted one last shot to tie the game, but Gaither's three-pointer hit off the front of the rim. After that failed attempt, the Mastodons went into the locker room with the 61-56 triumph.
Along with DeWitt, Pompey came up big for IPFW as he nearly recorded a double-double (points-rebounds) with 17 points and eight rebounds in 33 minutes of action. Tyler Best also added 12 points, five rebounds and three assists for the Mastodons.
Edwards finished with a team-high 12 points to go along with seven rebounds and a career-high three blocked shots in 28 minutes of action. Colin Lien (Waterloo, IA/Southeastern C.C.) finished with nine points and 11 rebounds while Shankle and Zach Trader (LaPorte, TX/LaPorte H.S.) posted nine and eight points, respectively.
With the victory, IPFW improved its record to 6-13 on the season while UTPA dropped to 5-14.
The Broncs will return to action at the UTPA Fieldhouse as they welcome SMU to the Rio Grande Valley on Tuesday (Jan. 24) with game time set for 7:30 p.m.
UTPA Sports Information
