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For Immediate Release: November 11, 2001 EDINBURG,
TX–If their play in exhibition games is any indication, the University
of Texas-Pan American men’s basketball team is ready for the season to
begin.
The Broncs outscored Houston Quest, 38-7 during the
final eleven minutes of the first half, and went on to a 99-51 victory
in their second and final exhibition game of the season at the UTPA
Fieldhouse Sunday afternoon. Senior guard Mire Chatman (Garland, TX/South Garland HS/Southwestern Christian JC) keyed the run with 14 points, finishing the first half with 18 points in 16 minutes. Junior guard Kevin Mitchell (Copperas Cove, TX/Copperas Cove HS/McLennan CC) ignited the run with a layup, while junior forward Jon Nubine (Oklahoma City, OK/Putnam City North HS/Carl Albert JC) contributed six points during the decisive run. The Broncs seemed to get stronger as the game went
on, making 19 of 36 shots from the field in the second half for 52.8 per
cent and shooting an even 50 per cent from the field for the game.
Chatman finished with 36 points in 28 minutes, making 14 of 23 shots
from the field, while Nubine went 8 for 11 from the field and
contributed 17 points. Senior forward Joey Tate (San Antonio, TX/Taft
HS/Temple HC) contributed 12 points, making 5 of 6 shots from the field. Chatman led the Broncs on the boards as well,
grabbing nine rebounds, while Tate had eight. Mitchell had five assists. Karel Steward had nine points and 11 rebounds for
Houston Quest, while Cyril White also had nine points and Taurus Dearman
had eight. UTPA limited Houston Quest to 28 per cent from the field in
the second half and 29.2 per cent for the game. “We played better, but we played in spurts,”
said UTPA Head Coach Bob Hoffman. “When you don’t hit your shots,
sometimes that affects your defense, and I think that’s what happened
to us early. Jon Nubine played well, he’s deceptively quick and can
get to the rim faster than you can believe. He plays very strong, and
will get better as the year goes on. We didn’t push the ball as much
as we wanted to early. We took a lot of jump shots at the beginning of
the game, and once we started attacking the rim, we played better.” The Broncs will return to action when they begin the regular season this Saturday, November 17th when they host Sul Ross State at 8:00 p.m. at the UTPA Fieldhouse. MBBQUEST-11-11-01 |