Dec. 30, 2007

Four Broncs finished in double-figures but it wasn't enough to hold of the Blackbirds of Long Island University as they collected a 95-83 victory in first day of the Central Florida Classic.

The Broncs dropped their overall record to 7-10 on the season while the Blackbirds improved to 9-3 overall.

Eugene Kotorobai fired a three-pointer to the open the first half and put Long Island up 3-0 at the 19:14 mark but a jumper by Zach Trader quickly put the Broncs on the score board.

The Blackbirds connected on several buckets taking a six point advantage with 14:44 remaining in the first half. A three-pointer by Paul Stoll (Lansing, MI/Lansing C.C.) helped the Broncs to get within one point and a pair of free throws by Zach Trader (LaPorte, TX/LaPorte H.S.) would give UTPA their first lead of the game 18-17 at the 12:14 mark.

The Broncs would extend their lead to five points but the Blackbirds were able to take a one-point advantage heading into intermission at 35-34.

UTPA struggled in the second half as they were unable to find the bottom of the net. Long Island rolled to a 13-point advantage after a pair of free throws by Tyrone Mattison, making the score 64-51 with 10:11 left in the game.

The Broncs were able to cut the scoring deficit to six points at 76-70 following a pair of freebies by Trader at the 3:38 mark but that was as close as UTPA would get as the Blackbirds were able to secure a first round victory at the Central Florida Classic.

Stoll finished with a game-high 24 points on 5-of-8 shooting, 3-of-4 from behind the arc, and 11-of-12 from the charity stripe, to go along with six rebounds and three steals in 31 minutes of action.

Trader collected 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting and 5-of-6 from the line, to go along with six rebounds while Brian Burrell (Nacogdoches, TX/Paris J.C.) recorded 18 points, three rebounds, and three assists in 37 minutes of play.

Nathan Hawkins (San Antonio, TX/Moberly Area Community College) added 12 points and Emmanuel Jones (Washington, DC/Riverside City College) recorded eight boards in the Broncs setback.

Kellen Allen finished with a team-high 22 points and nine rebounds while Kotorobai aided the Blackbirds with 20 points and eight rebounds.

The Broncs will be back in action tomorrow where they will face the winner of UCF-NJIT in the consolation game on Monday, Dec. 31 in the UCF Arena.

UTPA Sports Information