Jan. 14, 2006
Box Score
The University of Texas-Pan American men's basketball team captured back-to-back victories for the first time this season as the Broncs were powered offensively by a quartet of scorers that posted double-digits in a 74-63 victory over Northern Colorado on Saturday (Jan. 14) at the UTPA Fieldhouse.
Junior Kano Edwards (Bridgeport, CT/Western Nebraska C.C.) posted a team-high 20 points as he finished 8-15 from the field while adding five rebounds, one assist and one steal in 29 minutes of action. It was the second straight game in which Edwards collected at least 20 points in a contest as he was coming off a 25-point performance against Monterrey Tech in the Broncs' last game.
Junior Colin Lien (Waterloo, IA/Southeastern C.C.) also proved to be too much for the Bears on the low block as the UTPA center collected 18 points and nearly missed his second double-double (points-rebounds) of the season, collecting nine rebounds in the game.
"Kano and Colin did exactly what we wanted to do," said head coach Robert Davenport. "We wanted to get the ball inside to them and give them an opportunity to make something happen down low. We were able to executive our offensive effectively today and were able to make the necessary adjustments, which is a sign of maturity of our team."
The Broncs trailed early in the contest when Sean Taibi hit a mid-range jumper to give the Bears a 7-2 advantage with 17:43 remaining in the first half, but the Broncs would sprint out to a 6-0 run to capture the lead that they would never relinquish.
Following a lay-in by sophomore Zach Trader (LaPorte, TX/LaPorte H.S.), the Broncs increased their lead on the scoreboard to eight points at 22-14 at the 5:11 mark and would never allow the lead to dip under four points throughout the remainder of the first half.
In the second half, UTPA point guard Larry Sheppard (Baton Rouge, LA/Iowa Western C.C.) took over the game both offensively and defensively as he would finish the game with a double-double (points-assists) of his own, collecting 15 points and 12 assists.
Constantly hounded by Sheppard on the perimeter, Northern Colorado was only able to connect on 3-13 shots from behind the three-point arc in the second half and was only able to convert on 4-22 trey attempts for the game.
"Larry really controlled the game for us. He did it on both ends of the floor, and that was a great thing for us because he ran the offense effectively and played standout defense," added Davenport.
The Broncs' lead in the second half hung around double digits in the final 20 minutes, and they posted their best lead at 13 points at 49-36 with 9:58 remaining following a three-pointer by Dexter Shankle (Katy, TX/James E. Taylor H.S.). Shankle finished with 10 points and notched double figures for the second straight game.
During the remainder of the second half, the Bears were never able to truly challenge the Broncs' lead as UTPA cruised to a 74-63 victory.
Sophomore center Kirk Archibeque finished with a game-high 30 points as he only missed a single shot and free throw during the entire game, converting on 12-13 field goal attempts and 6-7 free throws.
Taibi finished with 13 points, six assists and three rebounds while Matt Kline added nine points and assists.
With the victory, the Broncs improved their record to 4-13 on the season while Northern Colorado fell to 3-17.
UTPA will be back in action on Monday (Jan. 16) as the Broncs travel to San Marcos, TX, to square off for the second time this season against Texas State. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
UTPA Sports Information
