Dec. 2, 2006
The UTPA men's basketball team was all ready to leave Iowa City, IA, with a 1-1 record at the Hawkeye Classic, and with about eight seconds remaining in the contest, it seemed that was what was going to happen.
However - LaSalle University had other plans in mind as the Explorers rallied off four points in the final eight seconds in the game to score the 64-63 victory over the Broncs on Saturday (Dec. 2) evening.
In what was described as an "unbelievable game" could and should only come along with an unbelievable finish.
The Broncs held a 30-25 lead at the intermission, but LaSalle came out hitting on all cylinders from the floor as the Explorers rallied to take a 43-42 lead with 14:04 remaining in the game. For the next 13 minutes, LaSalle controlled the scoreboard until Paul Stoll (Lansing, MI/Lansing C.C.) connected on a three-pointer with 1:15 left in the contest to give the Broncs a 60-59 advantage.
A Stoll-free throw and a pair of connections by junior Brian Burrell (Nacogdoches, TX/Paris J.C.) from the charity stripe gave UTPA a four-point lead with 23 seconds remaining in the game. With seven rebounds remaining in the game, junior Julius Allgood (Marion, AL/Southern Union State C.C.) committed an untimely foul on Rodney Green sending the LaSalle guard to the free throw line.
Green connected on both of his attempts from the charity stripe making the game 63-61, and forcing LaSalle into a situation where the Explorers needed to foul a Bronc player in order to keep the game within reach.
Following the inbound, Sherman Diaz immediately fouled Burrell sending the UTPA junior back to the free throw line for a 1-and-1 attempt. However - Burrell missed the first free throw attempt allowing the Explorers to sprint to the far end of the court where Green connected on a three-pointer at the buzzer allowing LaSalle to escape with the 64-63 victory.
Green finished with a team-high 16 points while Darnell Harris added 15 points and three assists. Yves Mekongo Mbala almost collected a double-double for the Explorers as the LaSalle forward finished with 13 points and nine rebounds in 26 minutes of action.
Burrell led all UTPA scorers with 16 points to go along with five rebounds, two steals and one assist while playing all 40 minutes. Allgood finished with 13 points and eight rebounds and Colin Lien (Waterloo, IA/Southeastern C.C.) collected 11 points and three rebounds.
UTPA finished the game shooting 41.2 percent (21-of-51) from the field, including 50.0 percent (7-of-14) from behind the three-point arc, while the Explorers connected on 44.2 percent (23-of-52) of their attempts.
The Broncs fell to 5-3 on the season and will travel to the Air Force Academy on Wednesday (Dec. 6) for a game against the Falcons, beginning at 8:00 p.m. central time.
UTPA Sports Information
