Jan. 5, 2009

The University of Texas-Pan American men's basketball program opened the New Year at the UTPA Fieldhouse with an 88-84 victory over the Huston-Tillotson Rams this Monday (Jan. 5) night.

"I'm glad we won, but disappointed in our performance. I thought Huston-Tillotson came out tonight and showed they wanted it, said third-year head coach Tom Schuberth. "I was pleased we made a first-half comeback, but then we just relaxed again. The good thing is that we're good enough to beat other good teams."

With 4:54 left in the first and layup by Nick Weiermiller, the Broncs would hold their first lead of the contest and would not let the Rams regain the lead again.

The Broncs went on a 10-0 run to end the first to make the score 48-34 to enter half time while shooting 65.4 percent (17-26) from the field, 42.9 percent (3-7) from three-point range and 84.6 (11-13) from the free-throw line.

UTPA came out of half time with the same momentum to take their largest lead of 16 at the 8:38 mark on a layup by Emmanuel Jones. But the Rams would close the deficit and come within four by the end of the half but would not be enough to defeat the Broncs.

The win brings the Broncs to 5-9 on the season and the Rams to 3-9 on the season.

Emmanuel Jones recorded a career-high 28 points on 13-of-16 shooting from the field and a perfect 2-of-2 from the line along with eight rebounds, one assist and one steal, while Luis Valera also recorded a season-high and a double-double with 16 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field and 6-of-7 from the line along with 10 rebounds.

In just his second start, Jason Jensen recorded a season-high seven points, three rebounds and two assists.

Gabe Haskins for the Huston-Tillotson Rams recorded a game-high 30 points with five boards, two assists and four steals.

The Broncs will be back in action on Wednesday, Jan. 7 as they host Texas-Arlington at the UTPA Fieldhouse before hitting the road once again. Tip-off is slated for 7:00 p.m. CT.

UTPA Sports Information