March 1, 2006
IPFW finished a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line during the final 1:38 remaining in the Mastodons' 55-54 victory over The University of Texas-Pan American at the Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, IN, on Wednesday (Mar. 1).
The Broncs possessed a five-point advantage at 54-49 with 1:41 left in the contest after Larry Sheppard (Baton Rouge, LA/Iowa Western C.C.) converted on one of two free throw attempts. During the next exchange, Brad Pompey was fouled for the Mastodons, heading to the free throw line where he converted on both of his charity stripe opportunities to make the game 54-51 with 1:39 remaining.
Following a missed lay-in by Kano Edwards (Bridgeport, CT/Western Nebraska C.C.), IPFW center Tyler Best was fouled in the paint and was sent to the free throw line where he converted on both of his free throws to cut the Broncs' lead to two points at 54-53 with 55 seconds remaining in the game.
UTPA center Colin Lien (Waterloo, IA/Southeastern C.C.) missed a jumper with 36 seconds left in the game where Scott DeWitt came away with the rebound. After a foul by Dexter Shankle (Katy, TX/James E. Taylor H.S.) with 34 seconds remaining in the game, DeWitt went to the free throw line where he drained both shots en route to giving the Mastodons a one-point lead at 55-54.
The Broncs had one more final opportunity to retake the lead and come back to the Rio Grande Valley with the victory when DeWitt fouled Lien with two seconds remaining in the game. At the charity stripe, Lien missed both of his free throw attempts as the Mastodons escaped on their home floor with a 55-54 victory.
As the final score would tell the story, the Broncs and Mastodons played a tight contest throughout the entire 40 minutes with neither team getting more than a six-point advantage over the other.
That big lead came at the 16:52 mark in the first half when an Edwards' lay-in gave the Broncs an 8-2 edge over the Mastodons. UTPA and IPFW recorded six ties during the first half, but the Mastodons went on a 5-0 run during the final 3:27 left before intermission and took a 30-25 lead into the locker room.
In the second half, the Broncs and Mastodons played a tight second half before IPFW was able to get the upper-hand in the final seconds of the contest en route to the victory.
DeWitt finished with a team-high 19 points while Pompey posted 13 points, four assists and two steals for the Mastodons.
Edwards collected a game-high 22 points and six rebounds to lead the Broncs while Zach Trader recorded 10 points and five rebounds. Lien added eight points and eight rebounds in the contest.
With the victory, the Mastodons improved their record to 10-18 on the season while the Broncs concluded their 2005-06 campaign with a 7-24 record.
UTPA Sports Information
