Jan. 24, 2006
Box Score
The shooting touch of the Southern Methodist University Mustangs started right from the initial gun.
The Mustangs used a 70.8 percent shooting percentage in the first half to take a lead that they would never relinquish en route to an 84-54 victory over The University of Texas-Pan American on Tuesday (Jan. 24) at the UTPA Fieldhouse.
"I told the guys in the locker room that SMU missed two shots in the first half inside the three-point line, and that was my fault," said head men's basketball coach Robert Davenport. "I was concerned about their shooting so I had the guys spread out across the court, and they were able to convert on a lot of easy shots. On the other side, we can't shoot under 30 percent and expect to beat anybody. It's not going to happen."
From 38 seconds into the first half when Bryan Hopkins converted on a pair of free throws to give the Mustangs a 2-0 lead, SMU would clearly have the Broncs in its rearview mirror for the remainder of the game.
Despite missing several key starters in the lineup in the squad's leading scorer Dexter Shankle (Katy, TX/James E. Taylor H.S.) and senior captain Derrick East (Binger, OK/Lookeba-Sickles H.S.), the Broncs were able keep the deficit within striking distance. Following a lay-in and free throw from Larry Sheppard (Baton Rouge, LA/Iowa Western C.C.), the Broncs were only down two points at 20-18 with 10:03 remaining in the first half.
The last 10 minutes would prove to be the clincher for the Mustangs as SMU proceeded to go on a 24-5 run to end the first frame. Derrick Roberts scored eight of his 11 first half points during that span and allowed the Mustangs to take a 44-25 halftime lead.
With the big men of UTPA in foul trouble early in the game, SMU continued to pound the ball inside to 7-1 freshman Bamba Fall and 6-11 junior Donatas Rackauskas only to toss the ball back out to the Mustangs' red-hot guards. The combination of Devon Pearson and Dez Willingham on the outside paid big dividends for the Mustangs as the duo combined for 17 of their 23 points in the second half.
"The last thing that we didn't want to do was get our big men in foul trouble early, but that's exactly what happened. It was pretty much the same thing as the Texas game where our big guys were out of the game, and they would make a couple of big runs," added Davenport.
With the lead suspended over 20 points during the second half, the Broncs were able to cut it to its lowest at 17 points at 61-44 with 8:02 remaining, but the Mustangs went on a final 23-10 run to close the game.
"We came out and played aggressive in the second half, and that's all that you can ask of your team. We forced 21 turnovers and that's an effort stat. We were getting after it, but we just continued to have trouble shooting the ball," Davenport commented.
The Mustangs had a quartet of players in double figures with Willingham and Roberts leading the way with 14 points a piece. Pearson finished the game with a double-double (points-rebounds) with a 12-point, 14-rebound performance. Hopkins added 11 points, five assists and two steals for the Mustangs.
Sheppard scored a career-high 18 points while adding six steals and four assists in 35 minutes of action. Danny Puente (McAllen, TX/McAllen Memorial H.S.) scored a career-high 11 points including a trio of three-pointers, and Cori Gaither (Jacksonville, FL/Southwestern C.C.) added 10 points on 3-5 shooting.
As a team, the Mustangs shot 63.8 percent (30-47), including 82.6 percent (19-23) from the free throw line. The Broncs finished the game at 29.6 percent (16-54).
SMU held a huge advantage on the glass as the Mustangs grabbed 44 rebounds, including 37 defensive caroms, while holding the Broncs to a season-low 20 boards. SMU dished out 23 assists in the game to nine for the Valley's squad.
With the victory, SMU improves to 10-7 on the season while the Broncs fall to 5-15.
The Broncs will begin a two-game road trip up to Utah and Colorado with their first game coming on Saturday (Jan. 28) against Utah Valley State. Game time is set for 10:00 p.m. Valley time.
UTPA Sports Information
