Nov. 21, 2006
The UTPA men's basketball team suffered its first loss of the season with a 76-69 setback to The University of Texas-Arlington at the Texas Hall in Arlington, TX, on Tuesday (Nov. 21).
In the first half of action, the Broncs and Mavericks played close as neither team was able to pull away with a secure lead throughout the entire first 20 minutes of play. The Broncs were able to build the biggest lead of the half at five points on three occasions with the first time coming at the 11:38 mark when a pair of free throws by Julius Allgood (Marion, AL/Southern Union State C.C.) gave UTPA an 18-13 advantage.
The Mavericks were able to close the gap at one point when Brandon Long connected on a jumper in the paint to make the score 20-19 with 9:10 remaining before intermission. After a Dexter Shankle (Katy, TX/James E. Taylor H.S.) three-pointer at the 8:00 mark, the Broncs extended their lead back to five points at 26-21, but UTA would gradually cut at the lead and overtake the scoreboard with 4:02 remaining in the first half with a 29-28 count.
The Broncs were able to regain the lead and went into halftime with a 32-31 advantage with a first half that saw five lead changes and a trio of tied scores.
In the second half, the Broncs were once again able to rebuild their lead to seven points at 48-41 with 14:48 remaining in the game following a three-pointer from Brian Burrell (Nacogdoches, TX/Paris J.C.). The UTPA guard finished with a team-high 21 points - including 18 points in the second half - in the contest to go along with six rebounds and three assists in 35 minutes of action.
However - UTA would rebound with a 17-2 run on its home court and took a 57-50 lead following a lay-in by Terrell Henry at the 9:59 mark. That would be all that the Mavericks would need in the contest with the Broncs unable to regain control of the scoreboard.
UTPA was able to cut the deficit to one point at 58-57 with 5:38 remaining in the contest after Colin Lien (Waterloo, IA/Southeastern C.C.) converted on a lay-in from Burrell. The Mavericks continued to control the ball and control the glass as they grabbed defensive rebounds on six failed attempts from behind the three-point arc for the Broncs.
The Mavericks were able to get to the free throw line 16 times in the final four minutes of the game where they converted on 13 of those attempts en route to securing the 76-69 victory on their home floor.
Zach Trader (LaPorte, TX/LaPorte H.S.) posted his second straight contest in double figures as he finished with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting in 28 minutes of action off of the bench. Allgood finished with 12 points and three rebounds while Shankle converted on 4-of-6 attempts from the field to finish with 11 points in 34 minutes of action.
The Mavericks found their stride in the second half where they connected on 59.3 percent (16-27) en route to shooting 54.5 percent (30-55) for the game. UTA held a big advantage on the Broncs in points in the paint where the Mavericks out-scored UTPA by a 54-22 advantage in the lane.
On the glass, the Mavericks held a 35-26 advantage, including 10 offensive rebounds, while UTA was able to force 18 miscues at the hands of the Broncs.
These two teams will meet for the second straight time when the Broncs welcome the Mavericks to the UTPA Fieldhouse on Monday (Nov. 27) for a rematch with tip-off set for 7:00 p.m.
UTPA Sports Information
