BRONCS, LADY BRONCS BACK HOME FOR DOUBLEHEADER
Contact: Dave Geringer, UTPA Sports Information Director, (956) 381-2240

EDINBURG, TX-With a spate of road games looming on the horizon, The University of Texas-Pan American's men's and women's basketball teams will try to take advantage of the fact that they will spend New Year's Eve at home.

Texas-Pan American will host a doubleheader at the UTPA Fieldhouse Wednesday evening. The Lady Broncs will play Prairie View A&M at 5:00 Wednesday night, and the Broncs will play McMurry at 7:30.

The Broncs have lost their last six games since they won at Texas-San Antonio, 86-83 in double overtime December 6th. UTPA just completed a tough three-game stretch, playing at Rice, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma, and acquitted themselves well, falling by 15 points to the seventh-ranked Sooners Monday evening.

"I want to congratulate Texas-Pan American," said Oklahoma Head Coach Kelvin Sampson after the game. "They were the better team out there tonight. They were well-coached and well-prepared. They played their hearts out tonight."

McMurry, one of the favorites in the American Southwest Conference, is 4-3 entering Wednesday night's game. The Indians average 87.9 points per game, and starting center Juan Muniz is a senior from La Joya High School, where he was a teammate of Broncs' junior guard Eric Montalvo.

"We're playing a team that's very athletic," said UTPA Head Men's Coach Bob Hoffman. "Their coach (Ron Holmes) does a tremendous job, and their starting center played at La Joya with Eric. It'll be a great chance to come out and watch some good basketball on New Year's Eve."

The Lady Broncs are 5-6, and have lost their last five games since defeating Sacramento State for third place at the Wildcat Classic December 6th.

PVAMU is 2-4. The Lady Panthers have lost four games in a row since defeating Paul Quinn and Huston-Tillotson to open the season.

"We want to really try to get out of the gate early against Prairie View," said UTPA Head Women's Coach DeAnn Craft. "We need to find out how to put the ball in the basket. We haven't been shooting the ball well at home. Any time you play at home, it's critical for your overall success. Prairie View is quick at every position, and they're an extremely scrappy team. They penetrate and kick out very well, and if they start hitting those outside shots, they can scare you."

After Wednesday's games, the Broncs and Lady Broncs will hit the road for extended stretches. The men will play their next three games on the road before returning home to play Missouri-Kansas City January 19th, while the women will play their next six games away from home before returning home to play Texas A&M-Corpus Christi January 24th.

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