Dec. 31, 2007

The Broncs couldn't have asked for more as they brought in the New Year with a 76-61 victory over NJIT in the consolation game at the Central Florida Classic on Monday (Dec. 31).

Five Broncs finished in double-digit scoring, including senior Paul Stoll (Lansing, MI/Lansing C.C.) who earned his second piece of hardware of the season as he was selected to the five-man all-tournament team for his performance in two-games.

Stoll finished with a team-high 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting, 3-of-5 from behind the arc, and 3-of-4 from the line to go along with three rebounds, seven assists and four steals.

The Broncs improved their overall record to 8-10 on the season while the Highlanders dropped to 0-15.

The Highlanders jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the opening minutes of the first half but a Dexter Shankle (Katy TX/James E. Taylor H.S.) three-pointer tied the game at the 19:09 mark.

After several exchange of baskets by both teams, the Broncs were able to take a 10-7 advantage when Shankle connected on his second three of the night with 14:28 left in the first half.

It was the Broncs the rest of the way as they headed into the locker rooms with a 10-point advantage over NJIT.

UTPA continued to stomp on the Highlanders offensively as they lead by 20 after a pair of free throws by Emmanuel Jones (Washington, DC/Riverside City College) with 12:16 left in the game. The Highlanders cut the deficit to 13 but that was as close as they would get as the Broncs secured a 76-61 victory at the Central Florida Classic.

For the game, the Broncs finished shooting 45.9 percent (28-of-61), 36.4 percent (8-of-22) from three-point land, and 75 percent (12-of-16) from the line.

Behind Stoll, Shankle and Jones each finished with 14 points while Zach Trader (LaPorte, TX/LaPorte H.S.) collected 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds in 28 minutes of action.

Nathan Hawkins (San Antonio, TX/Moberly Area Community College) chipped in with 11 points, four rebounds and two assists for the Broncs.

Leading the way for the Highlanders was Kraig Peters, who collected a game-high 19 points on 6-of-14 shooting, 3-of-6 from three-point range, and 4-of-5 from the charity stripe.

The Broncs return back to the State of Texas where they will conclude their 10-game road trip with a final game against Texas State in San Marcos, TX on Saturday (Jan. 5) with tip-off slated for 7 p.m.

UTPA Sports Information