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EDINBURG – The University of Texas-Pan American men's basketball team beat the CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners, a future WAC opponent, 79-73 in overtime on Thursday at the UTPA Fieldhouse.
 
Justin Leathers led four Broncs (13-13) in double-figures scoring with 16 points on a career-best 7-of-11 shooting. Aaron Urbanus scored 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including 2-of-5 from behind the arc. Jesus Delgado scored 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting. Brandon Provost scored 12 points on 3-of-4 shooting plus 6-of-9 from the foul line.
 
Stephon Carter led three Roadrunners (10-16) in double-figures with 22 points, on 10-of-15 shooting, five assists and six steals. Javante Maynor scored 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Brandon Barnes scored 11 points.
 
The Broncs jumped out to a 6-0 lead and led throughout the first 27 and a half minutes of the game. The Broncs went up by as much as 10 on a pair of Brandon Provost free throws with 4:25 remaining in the first half.
 
A Leathers dunk put the Broncs up 36-28 in the opening seconds of the first half, but the Roadrunners responded with a 10-3 run to pull within one for the first time on a pair of Adam Young free throws with 14:28 to go.
 
The Roadrunners took their first lead when Corey Hall converted a three-point play to make it 47-45 at the 12:35 mark.
 
That led to some back and forth play, but the Roadrunners started to pull away, going up by nine on a Maynor jumper that made it 63-54 with 4:44 remaining. Urbanus responded with a three-pointer with 2:22 left as the Broncs closed regulation on a 9-0 run, including a Provost free throw to tie the game with 34 seconds left.
 
Tyrone White hit a layup early in overtime to put the Roadrunners back on top, but Delgado hit two free throws, Leathers made a layup and Urbanus nailed a three as the Broncs took the lead for good.
 
The Roadrunners made one more charge, as a pair of Barnes free throws brought them within 73-69 with 1:13 left, but on the next possession, Delgado sunk a deep contested three with the shot clock expiring to push the game out of reach.
 
The Broncs resume Great West Conference play when they host Houston Baptist on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. at the UTPA Fieldhouse.
 
The game will be part of a packed day of athletic events surrounding homecoming.
 
There will be a tribute to the life of Broncs men's basketball head coach emeritus Sam Williams, who passed away at the age of 88 on October 22, 2012, 10 minutes before the scheduled start of the game.
 
During the final media timeout of the first half, the Broncs will recognize and honor the UTPA Athletics Hall of Fame and Hall of Honor Class of 2013, inducting former men's basketball players Mitchell Edwards and Jesus “Chuy” Guerra, former baseball players Bobby Rutledge and Don Guillot, and former men's tennis players Sherwood Stewart and Detlev Nitsche, as well as former baseball player Jody Ramsey.
 
At halftime, the 1963 NAIA Championship team will be welcomed onto the court for a ceremony recognizing the 50^th anniversary of their national championship. Immediately afterwards, UTPA Athletics will honor former Pan American great Luke Jackson and unveil his retired jersey.
 
One lucky fan will have the opportunity to win $1,000 dollars, courtesy of Rio Bank. Another lucky fan will win a free oil change, courtesy of RGV All Tune & Lube. It is the second-game of a single-admission doubleheader, as the UTPA women's basketball team hosts Utah Valley at 4:30 p.m. The first 250 fans in attendance will receive free popcorn. Doors open at 3:30.