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For Immediate Release: Saturday, February 15, 2003 BRONCS FALL TO ISLANDERS, 58-54 EDINBURG, TX-The University of Texas-Pan American men's basketball team was held to just 21 points in the second half, and fell to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 58-54, at the UTPA Fieldhouse Saturday night. The Broncs, who built a 33-29 halftime lead, stretched their lead to six points, 37-31, before the Islanders came back. An 11-5 run tied the game at 42, and moments later, Brian Evans' layup gave the Islanders the lead for good. TAMU-CC built a 10-point lead, 53-43, with 4:27 remaining, before the Broncs came back. Senior guard Kevin Mitchell (Copperas Cove, TX/Copperas Cove HS/McLennan CC) and junior guard Prince Thompson (Tupelo, MS/Tupelo HS/Itawamba CC) each hit a pair of free throws, then sophomore guard Eric Montalvo (La Joya, TX/La Joya HS) and Thompson each hit layups as Texas-Pan American used an 8-0 run to cut TAMU-CC's lead to two points, 53-51, with 1:33 remaining. The Islanders stretched their lead to five points with 50 seconds left, but Mitchell hit three free throws with 38 seconds remaining to cut the lead to two. A free throw by Evans increased the Islanders' lead to three, 57-54, with 32 seconds remaining. The Broncs got the ball back, but Mitchell's three-pointer missed, and a free throw by Travis Bailey accounted for the final score. Thompson led the Broncs with 17 points, junior forward Allen Holcomb (Chicago, IL/Steinmetz HS/Allen County CC) added 11, and Montalvo and senior forward Tomas Sitnikovas (Panevezys, Lithuania/Panevezys HS #5/Mid-Plains CC) added eight points apiece. But Holcomb and Sitnikovas both fouled out, and UTPA was outrebounded, 43-37. Corey Lamkin had a double-double for the Islanders with 18 points and 14 rebounds, while Travis Bailey and Thomas Bailey scored 11 points each. "We fought hard, but we didn't shoot the ball as well as we needed to," said UTPA Head Coach Bob Hoffman. "You can't win too many games shooting the way we shot the ball tonight. In the first half, we missed a bunch of uncontested layups, and, in the second half, they played very physical defense. It was great that we had a great crowd, with all those people yelling and screaming and trying to help us win." The Broncs fell to 9-18 with the defeat, while the Islanders improved to 10-14 with the victory. UTPA will return to action when they visit Savannah State Wednesday evening. MBB-47-03021503 |