Nov. 28, 2007
The University of Texas-Pan American men's basketball team posted its first Division I road win of the season after recording a 72-59 victory over Western Illinois at the Waste Management Court on Wednesday (Nov. 28).
"We controlled the game the entire way and I think the team did a phenomenal job," said head men`s basketball coach Tom Schuberth. "It's wonderful to get a win especially on the road because they are so hard to come by and it was a great team effort."
The Broncs improved to 4-2 on the season while the Leathernecks dropped to 2-4 overall.
Three Broncs would finish the game in double-figures, including floor general, Paul Stoll (Lansing, MI/Lansing C.C.) who nearly missed out on breaking his career-high points total as he finished with 22 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field, 5-of-7 from behind the arc and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe to go along with eight assists.
The Broncs got off to a slow start in the opening minutes of the first half but defense proved to be the key as UTPA held the Leathernecks to only two points in the first four in half minutes of the game.
UTPA began to pull away from the Leathernecks in the first half after a lay-up by senior Zach Trader (LaPorte, TX/LaPorte H.S.) at the 6:30 mark making it 12-19 but Western Illinois continued to fight back as they cut the lead by two after a jumper in the paint by David Jackson making it 20-18 heading into the locker rooms.
The green and orange picked up right where they left off, as they increased their lead to 16 points after a made three-pointer by Brian Burrell (Nacogdoches, TX/Paris J.C.) at the 15:58 mark.
Burrell would finish the game with 11 points and nine rebounds. Burrell shot 5-of-13 from the field and grabbed six of his nine boards on the defensive end, eliminating second chance points for the Leathernecks.
The Broncs continued to extend their lead as they rolled to a 19 point advantage after a pair of made free throws by Stoll at the 4:04 mark making it 61-42. UTPA breezed by the Leathernecks in the final minutes of the second half as they finished the half shooting 60.9 percent to the Leathernecks dismal 40 percent.
Nathan Hawkins (San Antonio, TX/Moberly Area Community College) proved to be a dominating factor in the paint as he connected on 7-of-11 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 from the charity stripe. Hawkins would finish the game with a career-high 17 points in 20 minutes of action.
David Jackson would finish the game with a game-high 28 points on 13-of-17 shooting and 2-of-4 from being the arc including six rebounds to go along with four steals in 36 minutes of action for the Leathernecks.
The Broncs continue their three-game road trip as they travel to Bozeman, MT for the Montana State University Tournament which is slated to begin on Friday (Nov. 30) where they will first match-up against Pepperdine University with tip-off set for 6:30 p.m.
UTPA Sports Information
