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EDINBURG – The University of Texas-Pan American Broncs men's basketball battled back from a 12-point deficit late in the first half to take the lead, but the University of Houston Cougars closed the game on an 18-6 run over the final nine minutes to win 77-65 on Monday at the UTPA Fieldhouse in front of a crowd of 1,432.
The Cougars (2-0) led 40-28 with 3:03 remaining in the first on a
Brandon Morris layup. The lead was still at 11 with 12 seconds left after a pair of
Danuel House free throws, but junior
Christian Hildebrant made a three from NBA range just before time expired to kick-off a 15-2 run that ended with senior
Justin Leathers sinking a pair of free throws to give the Broncs (0-2) a 50-48 lead at the 15:47 mark.
The teams traded baskets from there, with the Broncs going up 53-51 on a jumper by senior
Josh Cleveland, 55-53 on a layup by junior
Shaquille Boga, and 57-55 on a layup by graduate student
Javorn Farrell. After a House layup and a pair of
TaShawn Thomas free throws put the Cougars ahead, Farrell hit two free throws with 9:21 on the clock to tie the game at 59-59.
A Thomas layup with 9:03 left kicked off the Cougars' game ending run. Down 71-61 with six minutes left, the Broncs got layups from senior
Lauri Toivonen and sophomore
Shaquille Hines to pull within 71-65, but
Jherrod Stiggers hit a three and
L.J. Rose made three free throws as the Cougars scored the final six points of the game.
Farrell led the Broncs with 16 points. Boga scored 15 points with three assists. Leathers also reached double-figures, scoring 10 points while tying for the team-high with seven rebounds.
Four Cougars reached double-figures in scoring, led by Thomas, who scored 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting with 14 rebounds, two blocks and one steal. Rose scored 16 points with six assists and three steals. House scored 15 points with five rebounds and three assists. Stiggers finished with 11 points.
The Broncs and Cougars traded baskets early in the first half, with the Broncs tying it at 21-21 at the halfway point. The Cougars followed with a 19-7 run to take their largest lead of the game at 12 points.
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