Nov. 12, 2006
It didn't come easy, and nobody can say that the Broncs didn't earn it.
The UTPA men's basketball team proved to overcome several obstacles as the Broncs recorded their first road victory of the season with a 64-54 victory at the Alamo Dome in San Antonio, TX, on Sunday (Nov. 12) and upped their overall season record to 2-0.
For the majority of the first half, the Broncs held the advantage on the scoreboard and were able to build their lead to four points at 11-7 following a pair of free throws by junior Zach Trader (LaPorte, TX/LaPorte H.S.) at the 12:10 mark.
The Roadrunners were able to regain the lead with 8:48 remaining in the first half when Dezon Otis converted on a pair of attempts from the charity stripe to make the score 14-13. In a half dominated by free throw attempts, the Broncs were able to recapture the lead for the sixth time in the first frame on a pair of free throws by Trader.
Trader played a big role for the Broncs in the first half as he posted a half-high eight points on 6-8 shots from the free throw line in 13 minutes of action and helped UTPA possess a 12-4 advantage in points off the bench. In the game, Trader finished with a game-high 14 points on 2-3 shooting, including 10-13 from the charity stripe, in 25 minutes of action.
The Broncs were able to extend their lead to four points at 22-18 following a jumper in the paint by sophomore Alex Robinson (San Antonio, TX/Clark H.S.) at the 2:21 mark in the first half. That would be the final basket for both teams in the first half as UTPA headed into the locker room with the lead at 22-18.
In the second half, senior Colin Lien (Waterloo, IA/Southeastern C.C.) helped the Broncs extend their lead to 26-18 following two straight conversions, but UTSA battled its way back to 26-25 behind the quarterbacking of senior Kurt Attaway.
Attaway dished out a pair of assists and connected on a three-pointer that cut the lead to one point with 14:16 remaining in the game. A three-pointer by Isaiah Allen at the 13:31 mark gave the Roadrunners their first lead since the middle of the first half at 28-26.
After trading shots in consecutive possessions, the Broncs were able to regain the lead when senior Johnathan Chatman (Chicago, IL/Sheridan College) connected on a three-pointer from the corner with 11:15 remaining in the half to give UTPA a 31-30 advantage.
The Broncs went on a 13-6 run over the next four minutes, which was highlighted by three-pointers off of the hands of Brian Burrell (Nacogdoches, TX/Paris J.C.) and Dexter Shankle (Katy, TX/James E. Taylor H.S.) as well as a Julius Allgood (Marion, AL/Southern Union State C.C.) block that was converted on the other end of the court with a dunk by Shankle.
UTSA responded with a 7-0 run of their own highlighted by a quartet of conversions from the free throw line and a three-pointer by Attaway, who finished with 11 points in the game, to cut the Broncs' lead to 44-43 with 5:57 remaining in the game.
The Broncs were able to withstand the late run by the Roadrunners as Trader and Burrell were able to convert on the offensive end of the court while Lien proved to be a force on the boards as he pulled down four key defensive rebounds to stop UTSA's chances of cutting into the lead.
In the end, the Broncs were able to convert on several attempts from the free throw line en route to securing the 64-54 victory against the Roadrunners.
Burrell finished with 12 point, seven rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots in 38 minutes of action while Shankle added 11 points and five rebounds in 32 minutes.
The Broncs will be back in action at the UTPA Fieldhouse on Wednesday (Nov. 15) against Huston-Tillotson with game time set for 7:00 p.m.
UTPA Sports Information
