EDINBURG – Michael Hicks scored six of his 27 points in overtime to lead Texas A&M-Corpus Christi past the University of Texas-Pan American 79-73 in men’s basketball action Saturday night at the UTPA Fieldhouse.

Hicks hit on 12 of 16 shots from the field, while playing in all 45 minutes of the game.  He posted a double-double, pulling down 12 rebounds as well.  Damian Kirkaldy scored 20 points, Lee Denmon had 12 points and Arunas Drasutis had 10 points for the Islanders.  John Braxton and Watara Banks led the way for UTPA with 16 points each.  Brian Merriweather had 14 points and Kyle Sanders scored 10.

The Islanders, who led most of the game, had their biggest lead at 61-52 with 8:12 left in regulation, before the Broncs started their comeback.  The Broncs cut the lead to one point three times before Kyle Sanders hit 1-of-2 free throws with 25 second left to tie the game at 67-67.  Denmon missed a three-point attempt as time expired, sending the game into overtime.

TAMUCC took charge immediately in the overtime with Hicks making a layup just 31 second in.  He made another jumper with 2:51 left to give TAMUCC a six-point edge at 73-67.  John Braxton scored five points over the next two minutes to cut the lead to two points, but a Hicks layup and a pair of Toby Thompson free throws iced the game for TAMUCC.

UTPA fell to 10-15 on the season, while the Islanders improved to 12-13.  The Broncs will host Centenary on Saturday, February 26th at 7:30 p.m. in their next game.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders at UT Pan American Broncs
UTPA Fieldhouse, Edinburg, Texas
February 19, 2000

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (12-13)

No. Name                   FG  FGA  3FG 3FGA  FT  FTA  OF DE TOT  PF  TP  A   TO BLK S  MIN
11  Michael Hicks, f       12  16   0   0     3   3    3  9  12   4   27  2   2  0   1  45
33  Dustin Schultz, f      1   1    0   0     0   0    1  0  1    1   2   0   1  0   0  11
34  Damian Kirkaldy, c     7   9    0   0     6   6    1  1  2    5   20  0   4  3   2  34
5   Lee Dedmon, g          5   13   2   6     2   2    0  3  3    1   14  2   3  0   1  43
22  Toby Thompson, g       1   5    0   2     2   3    0  1  1    3   4   6   3  0   4  37
4   Jonathon Cook          0   1    0   1     0   0    0  0  0    1   0   1   1  0   0  19
10  Vladimir Ryzhov        3   6    0   2     4   6    5  1  6    3   10  1   3  0   0  27
15  Arunas Drasutis        0   2    0   0     0   0    0  0  0    0   0   0   0  0   0  2
50  Pate Diene             1   3    0   0     0   0    2  0  2    1   2   0   2  2   1  7
    Team                                               1  3  4                             
    Totals                 30  56   2   11    17  20   13 18 31   19  79  12  19 5   9  225

Total FG% 1st Half: 16-29  .552   2nd Half: 14-27   .519   Game: .536     Deadball
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-5    .400   2nd Half: 0-6     .000   Game: .182     Rebounds
F Throw% 1st Half:  4-7    .571   2nd Half: 13-13  1.000   Game: .850     0

UT Pan American (10-15)

No. Name                   FG  FGA  3FG 3FGA  FT  FTA  OF DE TOT  PF  TP  A   TO BLK S  MIN
11  John Braxton, f        4   12   1   6     7   7    4  3  7    4   16  0   1  0   3  40
15  Watara Banks, f        6   12   1   4     3   4    4  0  4    2   16  3   4  0   1  42
21  Kyle Sanders, c        4   4    0   0     2   4    1  1  2    3   10  0   1  0   0  28
05  Kwasinda Curtis, g     4   11   1   5     0   0    1  3  4    3   9   8   5  0   1  40
23  Brian Merriweather, g  4   12   4   10    2   2    1  4  5    1   14  0   1  2   1  45
10  Carlos Haywood         0   2    0   0     0   0    0  1  1    3   0   0   2  0   0  8
12  Gary Booker            2   3    0   0     0   1    1  1  2    2   4   0   0  0   0  8
33  Matt Palmquist         2   5    0   0     0   0    0  0  0    1   4   2   1  0   0  14
    Team                                               5  3  8                1             
    Totals                 26  61   7   25    14  18   17 16 33   19  73  13  16 2   6  225

Total FG% 1st Half: 16-32  .500   2nd Half: 10-29   .345   Game: .426     Deadball
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 6-16   .375   2nd Half: 1-9     .111   Game: .280     Rebounds
F Throw% 1st Half:  1-1   1.000   2nd Half: 13-17   .765   Game: .778     4

Officials: Bobby Bissant, Jeff Hodges, Art Brown

Technical Fouls: None
Attendance: 4,125

Score by Periods          1st   2nd   OT    Final
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi  38    29    12    79
UTPA                      39    28    6     73