CORPUS CHRISTI, TX-With the end of one of the best seasons in school history in sight, The University of Texas-Pan American men’s basketball team played with a purpose Saturday night.

They built a 48-32 halftime, extended their lead to 27 points in the second half, then survived a late rally to post a 110-105 victory over host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at the Memorial Coliseum.

The Broncs used a 19-4 run early in the first half to build a 22-11 advantage with 11;34 to play before halftime. The Islanders scored six consecutive points to cut the lead to five, but a 13-5 run, fueled by a jump shot and layup by senior guard Mire Chatman (Garland, TX/South Garland HS/Southwestern Christian JC), a three-pointer by junior guard Kevin Mitchell (Copperas Cove, TX/Copperas Cove HS/McLennan CC) and a pair of baskets by junior forward Andrius Sakalys (Vilnius, Lithuania/M. Dauksos HS/Eastern Oklahoma State), allowed UTPA to claim a 35-21 lead with 6:47 left before halftime. UTPA led by as many as 18 points, 42-24, with 3:17 to play before settling for a 16-point halftime advantage.

The Broncs broke from the gate quickly in the second half, taking a 67-41 lead with 14;41 to play. TAMU-CC had whittled the lead to 101-88 with 1:51 remaining when Bronc senior forward Joey Tate (San Antonio, TX/Taft HS/Temple JC) fouled out, and Chatman was called for a pair of technical fouls and ejected. Travis Bailey and Brian Hamilton combined to make six consecutive free throws to cut the lead to 101-94. A pair of layups by Hamilton and Brian Evans allowed the Islanders to come within four points with 24 seconds remaining. But sophomore guard Nick Traylor (Oklahoma City, OK/Putnam City HS/Northwestern Oklahoma State) and Mitchell combined to hit four free throws, and the Broncs held on.

Chatman finished with 46 points, which tied him with NCAA Division I scoring champion Marshall Rogers for the seventh highest single-game total in UTPA history. He added eight assists, four steals and five rebounds. Mitchell added a career-high 20 points, senior center Marcus Quinn (Midwest City, OK/Choctaw HS/Eastern Oklahoma State) had 11, and junior forward Jon Nubine (Oklahoma City, OK/Putnam City North HS/Carl Albert JC) contributed 10.

Brian Evans led TAMU-CC with 31 points, Thomas Bailey had 17, Travis Bailey contributed 16 and Brian Hamilton had 15. The Broncs, outrebounded 55-39 by the Islanders at the UTPA Fieldhouse January 26^th, won the battle of the boards, 31-30.

“For 34 minutes, I thought we dominated the boards against a team that outrebounded us last time,” said UTPA Head Coach Bob Hoffman. “We had a great week of practice, and it showed. We had a hard time stopping Brian Evans, but in the end, we had guys step up and make plays. The last two or three minutes, I think we were just playing to finish the game rather than playing to win, but before that, we came out with a hunger that was unbelievable.”

UTPA scored more than 100 points away from home for the first time since they defeated Sam Houston State, 113-97, at the Longhorn Classic December 7, 1990. They scored more than 100 in a road game for the first time since defeating Centenary, 109-91, January 30, 1978. The last time the Broncs scored 100 points in a road game was January 25, 1975 in a 110-83 win at Georgia Southern. That game and last night’s game represent the most points the Broncs have ever scored in a road game.

With the victory, UTPA improved to 18-8 and broke their four-game losing streak. The Islanders dropped to 8-15. UTPA will return to action when they host New Mexico State at the UTPA Fieldhouse Monday evening at 7:30 p.m.

MBBTAMUCC2020902