Dec. 20, 2005
Box Score
The University of Texas-Pan American dropped its seventh straight game as Stephen F. Austin put together a late second-half surge en route to capturing a 71-52 victory at the William R. Johnson Coliseum in Nacogdoches, TX, on Tuesday (Dec. 20).
The Broncs came out strong in the first half of action against the Lumberjacks, holding the host team to a season-low 28 points heading into intermission. Despite being down most of the first half, the Broncs' defense stifled the Stephen F. Austin offense, which came into the game averaging over 80 points per contest.
Stephen F. Austin held the advantage over the Broncs on the scoreboard until the 2:10 mark when senior Derrick East (Binger, OK/Lookeba-Sickles H.S.) connected on a pair of free throws to give UTPA a 26-24 edge. An East lay-in with 1:08 remaining in the first half allowed the Broncs to take a 28-24 lead and went into the locker rooms with a one-point advantage at 29-28.
In the second half, the Lumberjacks took a 36-35 lead when the squad's leading scorer Antuane Miller drained a jumper with 15:25 remaining in the game. Similar to the Broncs' last game, the Valley's squad was unable to convert on offensive opportunities and committed 11 of its 19 total turnovers in the final 15 minutes of play.
Stephen F. Austin began to find their rhythm on the offensive end of the floor as they put together a second half surge that resulted in outscoring the Broncs by a 35-17 advantage. Following the field goal by Miller, the Lumberjacks proceeded to go on a 12-0 run over the next five minutes of the game and held a 48-35 lead over the Broncs.
UTPA was able to cut the lead down to five points at 50-45 with 6:25 remaining in the game when Colin Lien (Waterloo, IA/Southeastern C.C.) took a pass from Larry Sheppard (Baton Rouge, LA/Iowa Western C.C.) and converted on the field goal opportunity. Lien finished with a team-high 16 points in the contest, including 4-5 from the field and 8-10 at the free throw line.
Stephen F. Austin went on another 12-0 run following Lien's lay-in and held a 62-45 advantage with 3:03 remaining in the game when Keith Hardaway converted on a East miscue to the easy fast break lay-in. The Lumberjacks would never be tested during the remainder of the game as they cruised to the 71-52 home victory.
After shooting 40 percent (12-30) in the first half, the Lumberjacks went on an offensive tear in the second set of 20 minutes as they connected on 65.2 percent (15-23) and finished the game shooting over 50 percent for the game. As a team, the Broncs connected on 41.7 percent (15-36) of their shots.
The Broncs committed 19 miscues to seven by the Lumberjacks, which resulted in a 21-4 advantage by Stephen F. Austin in points off turnovers. The Lumberjacks also held the edge in points in the paint by a 36-20 margin, but the Broncs' bench outscored Stephen F. Austin by a 25-11 margin.
Marcus Clark finished with a game-high 21 points on 7-12 shooting, including 4-6 from behind the three-point arc, to go along with five assists, three rebounds and two steals in 37 minutes of action. Miller contributed to the offensive cause with 12 points while Josh Alexander and Hardaway added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Sheppard finished with nine points, four assists, four rebounds and two steals in 38 minutes of action, and East finished with eight points and seven rebounds in 26 minutes of work.
The Broncs dropped their record to 2-9 on the season and will take to the air once again as they travel to Dayton, OH, for a contest against Wright State University on Thursday (Dec. 22). Game time is set for 7:00 p.m.
UTPA Sports Information
