Dec. 29, 2007
Game Notes - Central Florida Tournament in PDF Format 
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Game Information
▪ - The University of Texas-Pan American men's basketball team continues its 10-game road trip with the Central Florida Tournament where they will match-up against Long Island at 1 p.m. on Sunday (Dec. 30).
▪ - The Broncs will fa ce either host Central Florida or NJIT tomorrow, depending on the outcome of tonights game.
▪ - This will be the Broncs final tournament of the season as they have yet to capture a tournament title.
▪ - This will be the third recorded meeting between UTPA and Long Island in school history with the Blackbirds holding onto a 2-0 advantage.
▪ - The last meeting was back in the 1992-93 season when the Broncs were coached by Mark Adams and were apart of the Sun Belt Conference. The Blackbirds pulled away with a 60-54 victory.
▪ - Faithful of the UTPA men's basketball teamwill have an opportunity to listen to the game courtesy of ESPN Radio 1240AM and audiosportsonline.net with Broncs' play-by-play announcer Jonah Goldberg.
Last Game - Texas Southern
▪ - The Broncs broke a five-game losing streak and improved their overall record to (7-9) while Texas Southern suffered its 11th straight loss with the 78-60 setback Sunday afternoon at the Las Vegas Classic.
▪ - Texas Southern's Ike Anthony connected on a trio of three-pointers at the start of the first half as the Broncs fell into a 12 point deficit but the Broncs fired back with eight straight points heading into the second half.
▪ - The Broncs missed seven shots in the second half, while Texas Southern misfired on 13 straight buckets.
▪ - Brian Burrell finished with a game-high 20 points and eight rebounds while Nathan Hawkins collected 18 points including 10-of-14 from the charity stripe.
▪ - Danny Puente chipped in with nine points and senior Zach Trader added eight in the Broncs seventh victory of the season.
▪ - Sollie Norwood was the only Tiger to finish in double-figures as he collected 15 points in the 78-60 setback.
▪ - The Broncs finished the eight-team Las Vegas Tournament with a 1-3 record and will take the momentum from this game into the University of Central Florida Tournament as they will match-up against Long Island.
Stoll and Burrell Earn All-Tournament Team Honors
▪ - Stoll was selected to the five-man all-tournament team for his outstanding performance at the Missouri State Price Cutter Classic on Nov. 17
▪ - The floor general finished with a shooting average of 17.5 points to go along with 7.5 assists, 2.0 assists and 3.5 rebounds in two games.
▪ - Burrell was selected to the five-man all-tournament team at the Montana State Bobcat Gran Tree Inn Classic on Dec. 1. Burrell collected a team-high 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting and 7-of-11 from behind the arc against Pepperdine on Nov. 30.
▪ - Playing in his third tournament this season, Burrell was selected to the five-man all-tournament team at the Drake Regency Challenge Classic for the second time this season.
▪ - The 6'3 senior guard collected 38 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, and four steals in his two-game tournament performance.
Burrell Looks to Shine in Senior Season
▪ - Senior Brian Burrell had a stellar first season as he appeared in all 29 games this past season, earning a position in the starting lineup on 27 occasions
▪ - The Bronc junior finished the season averaging a team-high 15.6 points to go along with 5.1 rebounds per game, Burrell connected on 43.3 percent (161-of-372) of his attempts from the field, 39.9 percent (81-of-203) of his three-point field goal tries and 87.5 percent (49-of-56) of his shots from the charity stripe.
▪ - The Bronc guard collected 10 or more points in 25 of 29 games and scored 20 or more points on eight occasions while leading the program in scoring in 15 of 29 games.
▪ - Burrell was selected as the United Basketball League Newcomer of the Year as the UTPA guard was the top vote-getter among all UBL first-year players while also earning a trip to both the UBL First Team and All-Newcomer Team.
▪ - Burrell enters 2007-08 campaign as the top returning scorer and is currently ranked third in rebounds among all NCAA Division I Independent players.
Record Setting Five Tournaments
▪ - The Broncs will compete in five tournaments throughout the 2007-08 season. UTPA will make its first stop in Springfield, MO, where the Broncs will sqaure-off against UNC-Greensboro in the first round of the two-day affair.
▪ - UTPA will next travel to the Missouri State University Tournament where they will match-up against West Coast Conference-foe Pepperdine, Montana State, Alcorn State and Western Illinois in the three-day event.
▪ - The Broncs will then set their sights on a tournament championship at the Drake University Tournament in Des Moines, IA, followed by the most spectacular highlight of the season for the Broncs as they will be a part of the Las Vegas Classic for a quartet of games.
▪ - To close out the calendar year, the Broncs will travel to the UCF Holiday Tournament for the second straight season where UTPA advanced to the championship game during the 2006-07 campaign.
▪ - The Broncs will hit the floor against Long Island University in the first round of the tournament before facing off against either University of Central Florida or New Jersey Institute of Technology on the final day of action.
UTPA Adds Hawkins, Nephew of Former NBA Hall of Fame Player
▪ - The basketball gene pool runs deep in the Hawkins' family as his father (Robert) played in the NBA for the Golden State Warriors and his brother (Robert) played his collegiate basketball at St. Mary's University.
▪ - Hawkins is the nephew of NBA Hall of Fame standout George Gervin as well as cousin of former NBA player Derrick Gervin.
▪ - San Antonio, TX product, Hawkins was a standout at Sandra Day O'Connor High School where he was a first team all-region and first team All-District 28-5A selection during his senior campaign.
▪ - Hawkins attended The Lawrenceville Prep School where he was selected as the number-four post guard by New Jersey Hoops. Averaged 14.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game en route to earning Most Valuable Player honors.
Trip to Far East One of Success
▪ - The Broncs floor general returns for his final season after spending the month of June playing Internationaly in China. Stoll made the trip to the Far East with the Sports Reach Program where he played against members of the CBA Top Division.
▪ - Making his first start for the Crusaders, Stoll had the second-highest point total on the squad with 15 points. The UTPA senior put on a deep-range shooting clinic as he went 5-for-7 from the field, including 5-for-6 from behind the arc while recording a team high four steals in the contest.
▪ - Stoll let his teammates do the talking for him offensively in the team's third game as the Crusader's had five players scoring in double figures to earn the 89-61 victory over the Tigers. The UTPA floor general recorded seven assists while only turning over the ball on just one occasion to go along with seven steals in the contest
▪ - The UTPA point guard was the only player on the Crusaders' squad that was not a member of a program affiliated with the SEC.
Trader Brothers Take The Court This Season
▪ - For the first time in family history Zach and Jacob Trader will be teaming up to dominate the inside post positions. This will be the first time the two brothers have ever played on a team together and this also marks the first time in UTPA men's basketball history.
▪ - As an experienced college standout Zach Trader will be looking to lead by example for his team as well as his brother. Trader concluded his junior campaign averaging a career-high 7.9 points per game to go along with 2.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.
▪ - After red-shirting the 06-07 season, Jacob Trader will be looking to his senior, older brother for guidance in his first year of Division I collegiate basketball.
Scouting the Opponent - Long Island University (8-3)
▪ - The Blackbirds enter the University of Central Florida Classic on a four game win streak after recording their fourth victory over Saint Peter's 67-62 on Dec. 20.
▪ - Long Island improved to (8-3) on the season and are off to one of its best starts since the 1982-83 season.
▪ - The Blackbirds rallied from a 15-point deficit in the first half and held off Saint Peter's.
▪ - Four Blackbirds finished in double-figures, including Jaytornah Wisseh who finished with 13 points on 4-of-10 shooting from the field, 2-of-3 from three-point range and 3-of-4 from the charity stripe.
▪ - Sophomore Wisseh ranks third in the Northwest Conference with 6.00 assists per game. He has eight games of at least five assists and dished a career-high 11 against Harvard. Twice this year he has dropped nine dimes. He ranks second in assist-to-turnover ratio in the NEC at 1.88.
▪ - For the game, Long Island shot 43.6 percent (24-of-55) from the field, 47.4 percent (9-of-19) from behind the arc, and 50 percent (10-of-10) from the free throw line.
▪ - The Blackbirds are led by Kellen Allen who is averaging 12.8 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. Three other Blackbirds are averaging 10 or more points per game.
▪ - Senior Allen scored his 500th career point en route to a career-high in scoring for the second time in three games when he poured in 24 points against Harvard on Dec. 13.
▪ - Long Island will face 11 non-conference opponents from a total of up to six conferences. The Blackbirds have already surpassed last season's non-conference win total with a 7-2 non-conference start. LIU posted a 4-7 non-league mark last year.
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