BRONCS VISIT WRIGHT STATE
Contact: Dave Geringer, UTPA Sports Information Director, (956) 381-2240

EDINBURG, TX-A little over four years ago, Bob Hoffman earned his first victory as head coach of The University of Texas-Pan American's men's basketball team when the Broncs defeated Wright State at the UTPA Fieldhouse.

Texas-Pan American will try to defeat the Raiders for the second time during Hoffman's tenure when they visit Wright State Wednesday evening. Game time is 6:05 p.m. Central Time at the Ervin J. Nutter Center.

WSU has defeated the Broncs twice since they met at UTPA November 27, 1999. This will be the third consecutive time they have met in Dayton.

UTPA will take a 5-10 record into the game. The Broncs are coming off a 71-53 loss at North Texas last Thursday night.

"This is another chance for us to continue to improve," said Hoffman. "We have played a lot of road games, and we're getting more and more experience in pressure situations, which will only help us."

WSU is 6-8. The Raiders are coming off a 67-61 win at Detroit last Saturday. Senior forward Seth Doliboa and senior guard Vernard Hollins, each of whom scored 20 points in an 83-64 Wright State victory two seasons ago, are the Raiders' top two scorers this season.

"Wright State is really playing well," said Hoffman. "They're coming off a big win against Detroit, and their top players gave us trouble two years ago. It's a great atmosphere. Their coliseum is a great place to play basketball, and they'll have a good crowd. Wright State runs a lot of junk. They'll probably throw a bunch of different defenses at us to try to mess up what we do offensively."

After Wednesday's game, Texas-Pan American returns home to play Missouri-Kansas City next Monday evening.

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