Jan. 5, 2008
Thirteen point in overtime was all the Broncs needed to secure a 83-78 road victory over Southland Conference-foe Texas State on Saturday evening at the Strahan Coliseum.
The Broncs improved their overall record to 9-10 while the Bobcats dropped to 7-6 on the season.
Four Broncs finished in double-figures, including Emmanuel Jones (Washington, DC/Riverside City College) who collected a career-high 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting, 7-of-9 from the free throw line, to go along with eight rebounds, three assists and one block in the Broncs overtime victory.
UTPA jumped out to four point lead in the early minutes of the first half after Zach Trader (LaPorte, TX/LaPorte H.S.) connected on two buckets, making the score 4-0.
A three-pointer by Dylan Moseley put the Bobcats on the scoreboard and a Ryan White jumper would give Texas State a 7-6 advantage at the 15:01 mark.
Throughout the first half, the Broncs and the Bobcats were competitive on both ends of the court but UTPA was able to hold off Texas State's defense and lead by as many as 12 at the 3:40 mark.
After eight lead changes and the score tied three times, the Broncs were able to roll into halftime with a six point advantage.
The Broncs opened the second half on fire, as they extended their lead to 11 after Paul Stoll (Lansing, MI/Lansing C.C.) connected from three-point range, making the score 49-38.
UTPA kept plenty of separation between Texas State but a White three-pointer with 3:20 left in the game cut the deficit to six points, the lowest lead since the 15:06 mark in the second half.
Both teams went scoreless until Texas State hit from three-point range with 1:30 left in the game, making the score 70-67. Missed opportunities by the Broncs led to a Brandon Bush three-point play which tied the game at 70-70 and sent the game into overtime.
The Bobcats fired first in overtime following a jumper by Bush but the Broncs showed no signs of fatigue as Nick Weiermiller hit a three-pointer with 4:13 left on the clock, giving UTPA a one-point advantage.
A pair of White's free throws would give the Bobcats a 76-73 lead but the Broncs were prepared to hand Texas State their sixth loss of the season and walk out of Strahan Coliseum with a victory.
The Broncs connected on several key buckets in the final minutes of overtime to secure a 83-78 overtime victory.
For the game, the Broncs finished shooting 48.4 percent (30-of-62) to the Bobcats 48.3 percent (29-of-60) from the floor.
Trader collected 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting, 2-of-2 from the charity stripe, to go along with seven rebounds, three assists and one steal while Brian Burrell finished with 12 points and seven rebounds in 34 minutes of action.
Stoll and Nathan Hawkins (San Antonio, TX/Moberly Area Community College) each added 10 points while Dexter Shankle (Katy TX/James E. Taylor H.S.) posted eight points, three rebounds and dished out three assists.
Bush and Agwumaro each collected 15 points while Pharr native Ty Gough added 10 points and three rebounds for the Bobcats.
The Broncs will be back on the hardwood on Tuesday (Jan. 8) at the UTPA Fieldhouse when they face Southland Conference-opponent University of Texas at San Antonio at 7 p.m.
