Braxton, Merriweather Are Strong, But Colorado State is Too Much for Broncs, 89-70
FORT COLLINS, COLO. -- John Braxton scored 22 points and Brian Merriweather added 20 to lead the Broncs, but Colorado State University used a balanced attack of five players scoring in double figures to defeat the University of Texas-Pan American 89-70 Thursday night at Moby Arena.
Braxton, a junior from Seabrook, Texas, made 8-of-12 shots from the field, including 4-of-6 from beyond the three-point arc in scoring a career high 22. He also led the team in rebounds (4) and assists (3). Merriweather, who leads the nation in three-point baskets made per game, hit on 3-of-7 from long range and 7-of-14 overall from the field in totaling 20 points. It was the first time this season that the Broncs have had two players with 20 or more points in a single game. Kyle Sanders was the only other Bronc in double figures with 10 points.
The Rams led from start to finish, but were challenged every step of the way. CSU ran out to a quick 14-4 lead, but the Broncs responded with a 14-4 run of their own to tie the game at 18-18. The Rams went on a 17-3 run which led to a 47-34 halftime lead.
UTPA came out of the locker strong on both sides of the ball. They held the Rams to just 4 of 18 shooting over the first 10 minutes of the half and pulled to within six points on a Merriweather 3-pointer with 9:40 remaining at 62-56. The Rams took control of the game and led by 11 again with just over seven minutes left. But hit the last of his four three-pointers to close the gap to just eight with five minutes left, but CSU took over from there.
With the loss the Broncs dropped to 5-7 on the season and extended their NCAA record road losing streak to 63 games. Colorado State improved to 10-4 overall. The Broncs will return to action on Saturday, January 8th at 9 p.m. CST against Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash.
Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICS Texas Pan-American vs Colorado State 1/6/99 7:04 p.m. at Moby Arena (Fort Collins, Colo.)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VISITORS: Texas Pan-American 5-7 overall TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 11 BRAXTON, John....... f 8-12 4-6 2-2 2 2 4 4 22 3 2 0 2 32 21 SANDERS, Kyle....... f 4-5 0-0 2-2 3 1 4 4 10 1 1 0 3 35 33 PALMQUIST, Matt..... c 3-5 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 4 6 0 1 0 0 14 05 CURTIS, Kwasinda.... g 1-4 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 3 2 1 4 0 0 19 23 MERRIWEATHER, Brian. g 7-14 3-7 3-4 3 0 3 0 20 1 1 0 1 36 00 KUZET, Reggie....... 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 01 PRESTON, Bernard.... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 03 RHOADES, Gabe....... 1-4 0-1 0-2 1 0 1 1 2 0 3 0 1 16 10 HAYWOOD, Carlos..... 1-3 0-0 2-2 0 0 0 4 4 0 1 0 0 20 15 BANKS, Watara....... 1-3 0-0 2-2 0 4 4 3 4 3 3 0 1 25 TEAM................ 2 1 3 Totals.............. 26-51 7-15 11-14 11 11 22 23 70 9 17 0 8 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-27 .444 2nd Half: 14-24 .583 Game: .510 DEADBALL 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-8 .375 2nd Half: 4-7 .571 Game: .467 REBOUNDS F Throw % 1st Half: 7-10 .700 2nd Half: 4-4 1.000 Game: .786 2
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOME TEAM: Colorado State 10-4 overall TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 40 PATIK, Garrett...... f 1-1 0-0 7-12 4 6 10 2 9 3 2 3 2 33 45 GOODWYN, Ceedric.... f 7-15 0-2 4-5 1 1 2 4 18 2 3 0 0 23 03 GRADY, Ron.......... g 5-14 0-5 1-1 2 1 3 2 11 4 1 1 1 34 10 PALMER, Aki......... g 5-6 5-6 4-4 1 0 1 0 19 7 1 0 1 31 32 SIVESIND, John...... g 5-9 5-9 0-0 1 2 3 2 15 4 1 0 2 36 11 BIRLEY, Andy........ 0-2 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 8 14 MANSELL, Derrick.... 2-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 4 2 2 0 0 11 30 MARTIN, Paul........ 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 33 GREENE, Brian....... 0-0 0-0 3-4 0 2 2 2 3 0 1 0 0 7 44 FISHER, David....... 5-8 0-0 0-0 5 1 6 1 10 2 0 0 1 16 TEAM................ 3 2 5 Totals.............. 30-57 10-24 19-26 17 15 32 16 89 24 11 4 7 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 18-29 .621 2nd Half: 12-28 .429 Game: .526 DEADBALL 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 6-12 .500 2nd Half: 4-12 .333 Game: .417 REBOUNDS F Throw % 1st Half: 5-6 .833 2nd Half: 14-20 .700 Game: .731 6
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Officials: David Hall, Mark Whitehead, Mike Littlewood Technical fouls: None Attendance: 3440
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Texas Pan-American............ 34 36 - 70 Colorado State................ 47 42 - 89