Dec. 20, 2004
Who doesn't like strawberries, raspberries, blueberries or blackberries?
One particular `berry' that Birmingham Southern College found out that it didn't like turned out to be UT - Pan American's Matt Berry (Tulsa, OK/Indiana State University).
The UTPA senior scored 19 points, including a career-high four three-pointers, en route to leading the Broncs to a 69-57 victory over the Panthers at the UTPA Fieldhouse on Monday (Dec. 20).
"Matt did a great job tonight," said head coach Robert Davenport. "He was patient and didn't try to force shots. More importantly than his offensive performance was the unbelievable job he did defensively."
Berry along with senior Eric Montalvo (La Joya, TX/La Joya High School) constantly hovered around the BSC offense, forcing the Panthers to commit 19 turnovers which the Broncs converted into 23 points. As a whole, the Broncs held the Panthers to 31 percent (14-45) from the floor, including 6-25 (24 percent) behind the three-pointer arc.
"Eric and Matt were both all over the place. Eric played all 40 minutes, and Matt played 38 minutes tonight. Those two really did an unbelievable job in locking up their offense," added Davenport.
Despite missing their top scorer in Sergio Sanchez (San Antonio, TX/Temple College), who was injured, the Broncs stuck to the same game plan that they have preached all season long - be patient on offense and impatient on defense - which worked wonders for UTPA against a strong BSC squad.
"I told the guys to take what was given to them, which they did. We wanted to be patient offensive, and these guys really stayed with the game plan because they didn't force shots, held onto the ball and stayed within themselves," Davenport commented.
The Broncs have become known for starting out of the gate a little slow, and quickly fell behind by 10 points at 14-4 when James Collins drained a three-pointer at the 17:18 mark. Collins tied for a team-high 14 points on 4-12 shooting and added three assists.
Birmingham Southern maintained a marginal lead through the middle portion of the first half before UTPA was able to make its move. Montalvo connected on his second trey of the half with 3:53 remaining before intermission to give the Broncs a 30-28 advantage - their first lead of the half. Montalvo finished the game with 12 points, draining a trio of three-pointers, while notching four steals and four assists.
The Broncs headed into halftime with a six-point advantage at 37-31 when senior Ryan Lange (Inwood, IA/Northeast Community College) capped off the first set of 20 minutes with a lay-in in the post.
"I told the guys at halftime that we played a good first half. We shot the ball well and rebounded, but the main thing that I told them was that we won the first half and now we need to win the second half. The big thing was battle on the boards because neither team has been out-rebounded this season. I told them that if you win the war on the glass then you'll win the game," said Davenport about his halftime strategy. The Broncs and Panthers finished the game tied with 31 rebounds apiece.
The Broncs came out in the second half and scored the first six points to up their lead to 40-29 after senior Ray Castillo (San Antonio, TX/Temple College) connected on his only trey of the game with 19:15 remaining in the half.
Birmingham Southern was able to close the gap to three points at 43-40 at the 13:01 mark when Collins took a Bucky McMillan pass and drained a three-pointer. The Broncs responded with a 7-1 run highlighted by Berry's final trey of the game to give UTPA a 50-41 advantage with under 10 minutes remaining.
The Panthers once again got within one possession of the lead at 58-55 after Jakob Sigurdarson sank a pair of free throws. BSC's leading scorer finished the contest with 14 points, but was 2-10 from the field and 1-7 behind the arc.
With the game winding down, the Broncs went on an 11-4 run in large part because of making 10 of 12 free throws down the stretch to secure the victory at 69-57.
Castillo chipped in with 12 points, and freshman Zach Trader (LaPorte, TX/LaPorte High School) notched nine points and a pair of rebounds. Derrick East (Binger, OK/Lookeba-Sickles High School) was the team leader on the glass, finishing with a team-high six boards.
The Broncs improved to 5-3 on the season and 4-1 in the friendly confines of the UTPA Fieldhouse with the victory while Birmingham Southern dropped to 5-4.
UTPA will be back in action at home on Wednesday (Dec. 22) against Wright State University with game time slated for 7:30 p.m.
UTPA Sports Information
