CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS – The University of Texas-Pan American overcame 32 points from Michael Hicks with strong free throw shooting to defeat Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 77-68, in men’s basketball action Saturday night at Memorial Coliseum.

Hicks, a junior from Panama City, Panama, was nearly perfect, making 12-of-16 shots from the field to score a career high 32 points.  He also pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds.  But with 1:47 to go in the game, Hicks fouled out and the Broncs outscored the Islanders 10-3 the rest of the way.

The game was a back-and-forth affair throughout with eight lead changes and six ties.  The Islanders used a 25-8 run midway through the first half to take their biggest lead of the game 29-16.  But the Broncs put the clamps down defensively and held the Islanders without a field goal over the last 4:58 of the first half.  That led to a 16-4 run that pulled UTPA with in a point at 33-32 at the half.

Brian Merriweather got the second half off to a quick start for the Broncs, keying a 7-0 run with a pair of steals, which led to five of his team-high 26 points.  The Islanders surged back with a 7-0 run of their own to take a 40-39 lead.  Merriweather hit two of his five three-point baskets over the next minute to help UTPA to a seven-point lead at 49-42.

Hicks scored the last of his 32 points on a lay-up with 3:08 left to tie the game at 65-65.    Kwasinda Curtis’ free throw gave UTPA the lead for good and Curtis went on to make 6-of-8 free throws in the last 2:22 of the game to ice the win.

With the win the Broncs improved to 9-12 on the season, their best record since the 1995-96 season.  It was also the first time since that season that the Broncs have won two straight road games.  Texas A&M-Corpus Christi dropped to 8-13 in its inaugural season.  UTPA will return to action on Monday, February 7th at Florida International University in Miami, Fla.

UT Pan American Broncs at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders
Memorial Coliseum, Corpus Christi, Texas
February 5, 2000

UT Pan American (9-12)

No. Name                   FG  FGA  3FG 3FGA  FT  FTA  OF DE TOT  PF  TP  A   TO BLK S  MIN
11  John Braxton, f        2   4    1   2     5   6    0  1  1    4   10  5   3  0   2  26
21  Kyle Sanders, f        4   8    0   0     6   7    3  1  4    4   14  0   0  0   4  30
05  Kwasinda Curtis, g     2   8    1   5     8   10   2  0  2    1   13  6   3  0   2  34
15  Watara Banks, g        3   6    0   2     0   0    0  4  4    3   6   2   5  0   4  30
23  Brian Merriweather, g  8   22   5   14    5   6    4  2  6    0   26  2   0  0   2  37
10  Carlos Haywood         0   1    0   1     0   0    0  1  1    4   0   0   3  0   0  8
12  Gary Booker            2   5    0   0     0   0    1  0  1    3   4   0   0  0   0  11
33  Matt Palmquist         1   2    0   0     2   2    0  1  1    2   4   0   2  0   0  18
    Team                                               3  10 13                             
    Totals                 22  56   7   24    26  31   13 20 33   21  77  15  16 0   14 200

Total FG% 1st Half: 10-29  .345   2nd Half: 12-27   .444   Game: .393     Deadball
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-14   .286   2nd Half: 3-10    .300   Game: .292     Rebounds
F Throw% 1st Half:  8-10   .800   2nd Half: 17-20   .850   Game: .833     3

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (8-13)

No. Name                   FG  FGA  3FG 3FGA  FT  FTA  OF DE TOT  PF  TP  A   TO BLK S  MIN
4   Jonathon Cook, g       2   6    2   6     0   0    0  1  1    3   6   1   4  0   0  32
5   Lee Dedmon, g          4   10   0   4     2   2    1  7  8    1   10  3   5  0   1  34
34  Damian Kirkaldy, c     6   11   0   0     1   4    2  6  8    4   13  0   3  5   0  38
11  Michael Hicks, f       12  16   1   1     7   10   8  5  13   5   32  2   5  0   0  35
15  Arunas Drasutis, f     1   5    1   5     2   5    0  0  0    4   5   1   2  0   0  12
22  Toby Thompson          1   6    0   4     0   0    0  2  2    3   2   3   2  0   2  28
33  Dustin Schultz         0   0    0   0     0   0    0  0  0    4   0   0   2  2   2  21
    Team                                               1  2  3                             
    Totals                 26  54   4   20    12  21   12 23 35   25  68  10  23 7   5  200

Total FG% 1st Half: 14-26  .538   2nd Half: 12-28   .429   Game: .481     Deadball
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-8    .250   2nd Half: 2-12    .167   Game: .200     Rebounds
F Throw% 1st Half:  3-7    .429   2nd Half: 9-14    .643   Game: .571     5

Officials: Bredemier, Smith, Brown

Technical Fouls: Drasutis (TAMU) 20:00 - 1st half, Hemsley (TAMU), Haywood (UTPA) 8:37
Attendance: 2,381

Score by Periods          1st   2nd   Final
UTPA                      32    45    77
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi  33    35    68