Box Score

YPSILANTI, Michigan – In their longest game in 13 years, the University of Texas-Pan American Broncs men's basketball team fell to the IPFW Mastodons 97-94 in triple overtime on Friday in their second of four games at the EMU “Ice Man” Classic at the EMU Convocation Center.
 
The Broncs (1-3) last played a triple overtime game on November 22, 1999, a 105-104 home loss to Oral Roberts. It was also the first triple overtime game in the history of the Convocation Center.
 
Senior guard Brandon Provost broke his career-high in scoring for the second game in a row, scoring 28 points while hitting a career-high nine field goals in 19 attempts, including 6-of-12 from behind the arc. Provost played 50 minutes, tying for the second most minutes played in a single-game in program history. Senior guard Aaron Urbanus scored a season-high 20 points while dishing out a career-high 10 assists in a career-high 47 minutes. Making his first start, junior forward Justin Leathers recorded his first-career double-double, with 18 points and 12 rebounds. He was 4-of-7 from the field and 10-of-14 from the foul line in 40 minutes.
 
Frank Gaines led the Mastodons (2-1) with 30 points. Mario Hines and Kevin Harden each had double-doubles, as Hines scored 17 points with 13 rebounds and Harden scored 12 points with 12 rebounds. Luis Jacobo also reached double-figures in scoring with 11 points.
 
The Broncs trailed by as many as 10 in the first half and didn't take their first lead until seven and a half minutes into the second half, when a Provost three made it 44-42. That lead lasted 48 seconds, and the Broncs didn't lead again in regulation. The Mastodons had a 62-56 lead with 1:02 remaining, but Provost hit a three-pointer with 36 seconds to go, and then after an Urbanus steal, Provost hit a three with 22 seconds left to tie it up. Pierre Bland tried to win it for the Mastodons with two seconds left, but freshman forward Shaquille Hines came up with a block to force overtime.
 
The Broncs took the lead in overtime on a pair of Provost free throws, but two Gaines free throws tied up. Junior forward Josh Cleveland again gave the Broncs a lead with a layup, but the Mastodons came back to take a 68-66 lead with 1:17 remaining on an Isaiah McCray layup. Urbanus responded with a three, but a Gaines free throw tied it up.
 
Gaines hit a jumper early in the second overtime and the Mastodons held the lead, which at one point was many as six points, until the final seconds. Down 85-83, Provost missed a layup, but a rebound and a tip-in by Leathers tied the game with five seconds left.
 
The Broncs opened the third overtime on a 5-0 run, and led by as many as six at 92-86 after a Provost jumper with 3:13 to go. Harden responded with a three the next time down the court. Then, with 1:13 left, Gaines hit a free throw, and 23 seconds later, a three-pointer to give the Mastodons a 93-92 lead. Urbanus hit a jumper with 30 seconds left to put the Broncs back on top, 94-93. Gaines hit two free throws with 18 seconds left to give the Mastodons the lead back, and then a steal by Harden and two by McCray in the final four seconds allowed the Mastodons to prevent the Broncs from going for a game-tying shot.
 
The Broncs continue the tournament on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. when they face Eastern Illinois.
 
The University of Texas-Pan American Department of Intercollegiate Athletics competes at the NCAA Division I level. UTPA, formerly known as Pan American College and Pan American University, is a part of the University of Texas System of Schools. The Broncs compete in 14 varsity sports: men's and women's basketball, golf, tennis, track and field, and cross country, along with women's volleyball and men's baseball. The Broncs have won six team national championships, including the 1963 NAIA Championship in men's basketball and every NAIA Championship in men's tennis from 1961 through 1965. The Broncs also have also won 10 individual national championships, all in men's tennis, with six NAIA doubles championships and four NAIA singles championships. UTPA has been a member of the Great West Conference in 12 sports since 2009-10. Men's golf competes in the America Sky Conference while men's tennis competes in the Southland Conference.