Dec. 6, 2006
Box Score
All head coach Tom Schuberth has ever asked of his UTPA men's basketball team was to leave everything on the floor.
The first-year head coach couldn't have been prouder of his team in a defeat as the Broncs battled the 23rd-ranked Air Force Academy to the very end in a 70-58 setback at the Clune Arena on Wednesday (Dec. 6) in Colorado Springs, CO.
In the first half of action, the Broncs and Falcons put on a shooting display as both teams connected on over 50 percent of their attempts during the first 20 minutes of the contest. The Falcons finished with a 58.3 percent (14-of-24) from the field while the Valley's squad connected on 52.2 percent (12-of-23) of their attempts.
The Falcons used the long-ball early and often against the Broncs as they connected on eight during the first frame, including four off of the hand of senior Dan Nwaelele. The Falcons' guard was 6-of-6 from the field in the first half as he finished with a half-high 16 points.
The Air Force Academy had trouble getting space away from the Broncs in the first half as they were able to build up a five-point advantage at 17-12 following a dunk by Nwaelele at the 10:00 mark.
The Broncs were able to cut the lead down to three points on several occasions during the first half, but the Falcons connected to respond with a hot-shooting touch and increased their lead to 10 points at 32-22 with 4:37 remaining before intermission following a trey by Nwaelele.
UTPA was able to cut the scoring deficit to five points at 34-29 following a lay-in by senior center Colin Lien (Waterloo, IA/Southeastern C.C.) at the 1:04 mark, but the Falcons increased the lead back to eight points at 37-29 following a Ryan Teets' three-pointer.
UTPA junior Brian Burrell (Nacogdoches, TX/Paris J.C.) connected on his second three-pointer of the half with three seconds left before intermission to cut the Falcons' lead to five points at 37-32.
In a tightly-played and tightly-called first few minutes of the second half, the Falcons were able to get the early jump on the Broncs and increase their lead to 10 points following a pair of free throw by Tim Anderson. However - a jumper from Dexter Shankle (Katy, TX/James E. Taylor H.S.) enabled the Broncs to cut the deficit back to eight points at 44-36 with 14:44 remaining in the contest.
Midway through the second half, the Broncs were able to cut the deficit down to three points following a three-pointer by Burrell. After a technical foul on the bench of the Air Force Academy, Burrell was able to capitalize on a pair of free throws to make the score 46-43 with 10:42 remaining in the game.
Larry Sheppard (Baton Rouge, LA/Iowa Western C.C.) connected on a jumper with time winding down on the shot clock to cut the Falcons' lead to one point at 46-45 with 8:56 remaining in the second half. Following an Air Force free throw, the Broncs were able to tie the score for the first time in the game after Zach Trader (LaPorte, TX/LaPorte H.S.) connected on a jumper inside the paint at the 7:40 mark to make the score 47-47.
In can only be described as an absolute dog-fight in the final seven minutes of the game, the Broncs and Falcons exchanged big shot for big shot, and each came up with big defensive stands.
The hot-shooting Burrell continued to connect from behind the three-point arc as he drilled two in back-to-back possessions to keep UTPA within a point of the lead at 56-55 with less four minutes remaining in the game.
The biggest shot of the evening would come off the hands of Air Force center Nick Welch as he connected on a three-pointer with 1:45 remaining in the game to give the Falcons a 60-55 advantage.
After a few missed shots by the Broncs, UTPA was forced to foul where the Air Force Academy was able to connect at the charity stripe to seal the 70-58 victory on their home court.
The Falcons connected on 19-of-21 attempts from the charity stripe while UTPA connected on 5-of-6 attempts in the 12-point road setback.
Burrell finished with a team-high 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting, including five three-pointers, to go along with three rebounds and two steals. Shankle finished with 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting, draining a quartet of three-pointers for the Broncs.
With the setback, the Broncs fell to 5-4 on the season while the Falcons improved to 9-1 during the 2006 campaign.
The Broncs will conclude their four-game road trip when UTPA heads to San Marcos, TX, for a rematch against Southland Conference-foe Texas State on Saturday (Dec. 9). Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.
UTPA Sports Information
