Feb. 21, 2007
Box Score
The University of Texas-Pan American men's basketball team dropped a 67-56 decision to Big Ten Conference-foe Northwestern University on Wednesday (Feb. 21) in Evanston, IL.
The Broncs, who are in the midst of a season-ending four-game road swing, dropped their overall record to 13-13 on the season while the Wildcats improved to 13-14 in the 2006-07 campaign.
In the earlier minutes of the contest, the Broncs controlled the scoreboard as they jumped out to an 11-8 lead following a three-pointer from junior Brian Burrell (Nacogdoches, TX/Paris J.C.) with 15:20 remaining in the first half.
Following the three-pointer by Burrell, the Broncs hit a cold streak in the scoring department as Northwestern rallied off a 16-4 run over the next six minutes as the Wildcats held a 26-15 advantage on their home court with 8:49 remaining before intermission.
The Broncs were able to cut the deficit to eight points at 28-20 with 6:07 remaining in the first frame following a three-point conversion by junior Danny Puente (McAllen, TX/McAllen Memorial H.S.).
A pair of free throws by Northwestern's Jeff Ryan increased the lead back to 10 points with less than five minutes left in the frame, and the Wildcats were able to hold a double-digit advantage over the Broncs as they held a 37-26 lead at halftime.
After trading baskets to begin the second half, the Broncs were able to cut the scoring deficit to six points at 42-36 following a two-point bucket by Burrell with 13:56 remaining in the game. A three-pointer by Burrell at the 11:26 mark helped the Broncs to get within two points at 44-42 on the Wildcats' lead.
The Wildcats recorded a short 7-2 rally to increase their lead to 51-44 with 7:54 remaining in the game following a lay-in by Jason Okrzesik. Throughout the remainder of the final minutes, the Wildcats were able to hold the Broncs' rally off en route to securing the home court victory.
Burrell finished with a game-high 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including 6-of-9 from behind the three-point line, to go along with six rebounds, three steals and two assists.
UTPA point guard Paul Stoll (Lansing, MI/Lansing C.C.) dished out a career-high 10 assists in the game while Colin Lien (Waterloo, IA/Southeastern C.C.) added nine points, four rebounds and three assists in 26 minutes of action.
Kevin Coble led the Wildcats with 18 points and eight rebounds in the contest while Tim Doyle added 17 points and Okrzesik scored 11 points for the home squad.
The Broncs will be back in action on Saturday (Feb. 24) when the Valley's squad travels to Fort Wayne, IN, for a United Basketball League contest against IPFW. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m.
UTPA Sports Information
