EDINBURG, TX–The University of Texas-Pan American men’s basketball team started off Thursday’s game against Lipscomb the same way they left off against Air Force a week ago.

The Broncs looked like they never took a break, making 65.5 per cent of their shots from the field in the first half, scoring the first nine points en route to a 55-point first half, and defeating the Bison, 96-70, at the UTPA Fieldhouse before a crowd of 3105.

Junior forward Jon Nubine (Oklahoma City, OK/Putnam City North HS/Carl Albert JC) connected on a three-pointer 20 seconds into the game to give UTPA a lead it would never relinquish, then junior guard Kevin Mitchell (Copperas Cove, TX/Copperas Cove HS/McLennan CC)hit a pair of treys as the Broncs built an early 14-2 lead.

Senior guard Mire Chatman (Garland, TX/South Garland HS/Southwestern Christian JC) scored 11 points in a row for UTPA during a span of 4:02 as the Broncs increased their advantage to 34-14 with 8:55 left in the first half. UTPA built its lead to 24 points, 49-25, 2:27 before halftime, and led at intermission, 55-38 

“We really made some good plays,” said UTPA Head Coach Bob Hoffman. “Jon Nubine was really feeling it, and Kevin Mitchell hit a lot of shots as well. Our guys came out and played with unbelievable intensity, and showed flashes of being rested and fresh right from the start.”

The Broncs continued their marksmanship in the second half, outscoring the Bison, 29-10 in the first six and a half minutes of the second half to build a 74-48 advantage with 13:34 to play. Chatman and Nubine each contributed five points during the run. UTPA built its lead as high as 31 points, 85-54 with 8:09 remaining, before Lipscomb cut into the lead in the final minutes.

“You only have so many opportunities to get better, and you have to take advantage of them,” said Hoffman. “We definitely played well for quite a while, and we made a lot of unselfish plays. We really passed the ball well, and it led to a lot of open shots. We’re happy with where we are at, but, at the same time, there are so many more things to be done.”

Chatman, who is fourth in the nation in scoring, led all scorers with 32 points. He made nine of 16 shots from the field, and also added five assists. Nubine added a career-high 20 points, making eight of his 10 shots from the field. Mitchell contributed 16 points and six assists, while junior forward Andrius Sakalys (Vilnius, Lithuania/M. Dauksos HS/Eastern Oklahoma State) had 15 points. Junior forward Terrell Hill (Carnegie, Ok/Carnegie HS/Seward CC) had seven rebounds at UTPA outboarded the Bison, 30-27.

Ryan Roller led Lipscomb with 14 points, while Clayton Osborn and Jeff Dancy each added 12.

With the victory, the Broncs improved their record to 16-4, and clinched their first winning season since the 1993-94 campaign. The win at home gave the Broncs a mark of 10-0 at home, and UTPA has now won more home games than they have in any season since they won 13 games at home during the 1993-94 season. The Broncs are trying to finish with an unblemished home record for the first time the 1977-78 team went 15-0 at the UTPA Fieldhouse. And UTPA improved to 12-1 in games played within the state of Texas this season.

Lipscomb fell to 3-15 with the defeat.

The Broncs will return to action when they host another independent team, Gardner-Webb, Saturday evening at 8:00 p.m. The game is the second game of a doubleheader and follows the Lady Broncs’ game against Gardner-Webb, which begins at 6:00 p.m.

MBBLIPSCOMB1011702