NASHVILLE, TN-Any college basketball team that wins 20 games knows that they have had a successful season.

The University of Texas-Pan American men’s basketball team won their 20^th game in a season for the first time since the 1989-90 season, defeating host Lipscomb, 79-62, at Allen Arena Thursday evening.

The Broncs took command early, outscoring Lipscomb in the first half, 42-24 while holding the Bison to just 20.7 per cent from the field. A 15-1 run midway through the first half did the trick, giving UTPA a 23-9 lead with 8:50 remaining. Senior guard Mire Chatman (Garland, TX/South Garland HS/Southwestern Christian JC) ignited the run with a layup, junior forward Andrius Sakalys (Vilnius, Lithuania/M.Dauksos HS/Eastern Oklahoma State) followed with a layup and a free throw, Chatman sandwiched a dunk and a trey around two more Sakalys free throws, and junior forward Terrell Hill (Carnegie, OK/Carnegie HS/Seward County CC) capped the run with a free throw. UTPA slowly expanded its lead. Junior forward Jon Nubine (Oklahoma City, OK/Putnam City North HS/Carl Albert JC) scored the final seven points of the half on a jump shot, three-pointer and a layup, and the Broncs led by 18 at intermission.

UTPA led by as many as 22 points in the second half. The Broncs made 45.8 per cent of their shots from the field in the second half, and finished the game at 47.2 per cent.

“I didn’t feel that we had quite as much energy as we did against (Texas A&M)-Corpus (Christi) Saturday or against New Mexico State Monday, but we found  a way to get it done,” said UTPA Head Coach Bob Hoffman. “Terrell had a great game. Since he began starting, it’s been like a light has come on, and he’s done a great job. Jon Nubine seems to have found a niche. He had a great game tonight, and he’s really guarding people well. We made some great plays. Our defense wasn’t as good in the second half, but Lipscomb did a better job of executing their offense. We didn’t pass the ball as crisply in the second half as we did in the first. This is a great Valentine’s Day present for these guys, and 20 wins is a great accomplishment, but we’d like to get a few more before we’re done with the regular season.”

Chatman led all scorers with 26 points, Sakalys added 15, and Nubine had 11. Hill had seven points and grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds.

Ryan Roller led Lipscomb with 14 points, and Jeff Dancy added 12.

With the victory, UTPA improved to 20-8. Lipscomb dropped to 6-19. The Broncs will visit Gardner-Webb Saturday evening at 7:00 p.m. CST in the second game of a doubleheader. The Lady Broncs will meet GWU in the opener.

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