BRONCS DROP FINALE TO CENTENARY BEFORE SRO CROWD

EDINBURG, TX-One of the largest crowds in the history of The University of Texas-Pan American’s basketball program gathered to watch five graduating seniors be honored prior to the Broncs’ final home game of the regular season Monday.

However, the evening was not an artistic success, as UTPA fell to the Gentlemen, 85-67, before a standing room only crowd of 5224 fans at the UTPA Fieldhouse.

The crowd is believed to be second only to the record crowd of 5649 that jammed the UTPA Fieldhouse (which seats 4000 people) for a UTPA-Lamar game in 1981. The fans had barely settled into their seats when Centenary used a three-pointer by Kevin Atamah and back-to-back treys by DeAndre Cornelius to take an early 13-4 lead.

UTPA immediately fought back. The Broncs then used a 10-2 run to cut CC’s advantage to a single point. Senior guard Mire Chatman (Garland, TX/South Garland HS/Southwestern Christian JC) sandwiched a three-pointer and a layup around junior forward Jon Nubine’s (Oklahoma City, OK/Putnam City North HS/Carl Albert JC) layup to ignite the run, which was capped by a three-pointer by junior guard Kevin Mitchell (Copperas Cove, TX/Copperas Cove HS/McLennan CC).

The Gents came back, and took a ten-point halftime lead on the strength of their shooting. They made 15 of 25 shots from the field in the first half for 60 per cent. That included seven of nine (77.8 per cent) from three-point range.

The Broncs made a run again in the second half. Trailing, 52-40 with 17:51 remaining, they outscored CC, 10-2 to make it 54-50. Chatman started the run with a pair of free throws and a layup, junior forward Andrius Sakalys (Vilnius, Lithuania/M.Dauksos HS/Eastern Oklahoma State) made a layup, Chatman connected on another layup, and senior center Marcus Quinn (Midwest City, OK/Choctaw HS/Eastern Oklahoma State) drilled a trey.

The teams battled back and forth, but UTPA could get no closer than two points. The Gents expanded their lead down the stretch after UTPA was forced to foul in an attempt to catch up.

“It was frustrating, I know our guys wanted to win, but sometimes, you just get beat,” said UTPA Head Coach Bob Hoffman. “They got on a roll, and we couldn’t get them stopped. We could never get ahead. Every time we got close, they would step up and hit a big shot. When someone shoots 11 of 15 from three, it’s hard to beat them. You have to take your hats off to them.”

Chatman led UTPA with 29 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and three steals. Mitchell added 12 points, and Sakalys had 11.

Andrew Wisniewski led Centenary with 26 points, Cornelius added 22, and Atamah had 11.

Chatman, Quinn, forward Joey Tate (San Antonio, TX/Jay HS/Temple JC), forward DeFrance Gurley (Cairo, GA/Cairo HS/Southern Union State CC) and guard Quinn Canada (Houston, TX/Reagan HS/Southern Union State CC) were honored prior to the game. 

The Broncs fell to 20-10 with the defeat, and Centenary improved to 14-12. UTPA will hope for a bid to the National Invitational Tournament when the bids are announced in March. 

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