EDINBURG, Texas- The University of Texas-Pan American's second half rally fell short on Wednesday night at the UTPA Fieldhouse as the Broncs fell to 66-58 to Army. The Broncs (3-12) have lost six straight while the Black Knights (7-6) have now won two straight.
The Broncs scored the first four points of the game to grab the early lead. The Knights answered back with a 6-0 run to grab their first lead at 6-4. The Broncs regained the lead at the 13:45 mark of the first half on Aaron Urbanus' three-pointer which made the score 9-8. The Knights and Broncs would battle back-and forth throughout the remainder of the period.
After UTPA trailed by four at 17-13 went on a 9-0 run, including a three-pointer by Matt Mierzycki at the 7:58 mark, to give the Broncs their largest lead at 22-17. The Knights answered back with their own rally. They finished the half on a 16-2 run, with Julian Simmons hitting two three-pointers as the Black Knights led at the intermission 33-24.
Simmons increased the Army lead to 11 with another trey with 17:24 remaining in regulation to give Army their largest lead of the game at 36-27. After trailing 47-37 with 9:30 to play, the Broncs began another rally. The Broncs scored the next seven points, capped off by an alley-oop dunk by Mierzycki from Urbanus to pull UTPA within three at 47-44.
The Black Knights responded with a 9-1 run, capped off by another Simmons three to regain their 11point lead. The Broncs rallied again with another Urbanus triple with 1:08 to play to pull UTPA within four at 60-56. After forcing an Army turnover the Broncs had a chance to pull closer, but Enique Mason had his lay-up attempt blocked. The Knights closed out the game on a 6-2 run to win by eight.
Perry Petty scored a team-high 21 points while adding six rebounds and four steals. Brandon Provost was the only other Bronc in double figures as he scored 15. Mierzycki was a rebound and a point shy of a double-double finishing with nine and nine. Urbanus scored seven points and he dished out a team-high four assists.
Simmons led the Black Knights with 21 off-the bench by hitting six of his 10 three-point attempts. Army's bench outscored UTPA's 33-4. Jeremy Hence added 12 points and five boards. Mitch McDonald scored seven and dished out seven assists in the Army win.
The Broncs will begin another long road swing on Sunday when they face Tulane University in New Orleans. The Broncs will play their next seven straight, on the road and do not return back to the UTPA Fieldhouse until February 3rd when they host GWC rival Utah Valley University. Tip-off for Sunday's game at Tulane is scheduled for 5:00 PM
