Jan. 25, 2008

Game Notes - NJIT in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

Game Information
▪ - The University of Texas-Pan American men's basketball program will hit the air for a three-game road trip, making their first stop in Newark, NJ where they will match-up against New Jersey Institute of Technology on Saturday (Jan. 26) at 3 p.m.

▪ - The Broncs recorded their sixth straight win against Houston Baptist on Tuesday (Jan. 22) and improved their overall record to 12-10.

▪ - This will be the fourth all-time meeting between the Broncs and the Highlanders with UTPA holding onto a 3-0 advantage.

▪ - This will the second of three meetings this season between the Highlanders and the Broncs. The teams met on December 31 in the consolation game of the UFC Holiday Classic with the Broncs recording a 76-61 victory.

▪ - In that game, five Broncs finished in double-figures, including Paul Stoll who collected 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting, 3-of-5 from behind the arc, 3-of-4 from the charity stripe to go with three rebounds, a game-high seven assists and four steals in 33 minutes of action.

▪ - Zach Trader added 12 points on 4-of-10 shooting, a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe to go with a game-high 11 assists, two assists and two steals.

▪ - For the Highlanders, Kraig Peters finished with 19 points, six rebounds, and four assists in the setback.

▪ - Faithful of the UTPA men's basketball team will have an opportunity to listen to the game courtesy of ESPN Radio 1240AM and audiosportsonline.net with Broncs' play-by-play announcer Jonah Goldberg.

Last Game - Houston Baptist
▪ - Senior guard Paul Stoll hit all 16 free throws and seven of nine three-pointers for a career-high 37 points Tuesday night to lift the University of Texas-Pan American over Houston Baptist, 82-68.

▪ - Stoll, a 5-11 team leader from Lansing, Michigan, barely missed a triple double with nine assists in 36 minutes played. He prolonged UTPA's winning streak to five in a row for a 12-10 record.

▪ - Houston Baptist fell behind 28-6 in the opening minutes, but fought back within eight points with 3:26 left in the game. Stoll cinched the win with four more foul shots.

▪ - Gordon Watt led the HBU Huskies with 17 points as their record fell to 7-14.

▪ - Zach Trader scored 18 points and Nathan Hawkins 10 for UTPA. Stoll's night was full of three-pointers and he sank seven of nine shots, all from three-point range.

▪ - The second half the Huskies put more pressure on Stoll each time he got the ball, but the 175-pound point guard was elusive throughout. He had three turnovers in 36 minutes and resisted some heavy pressure especially in the second half.

▪ - UTPA made 21 of 23 free throws compared to HBU's eight of nine. Stoll was fouled repeatedly after his hot start, when his five three-balls in the opening outburst made the score 21-6 and made him a man to guard the rest of the way, but with limited success.

Trio of Broncs Earn All-Tournament Team Honors
▪ - Stoll was selected to the five-man all-tournament team for his outstanding performance at the Missouri State Price Cutter Classic on Nov. 17

▪ - The floor general finished with a shooting average of 17.5 points to go along with 7.5 assists, 2.0 assists and 3.5 rebounds in two games.

▪ - Burrell was selected to the five-man all-tournament team at the Montana State Bobcat Gran Tree Inn Classic on Dec. 1. Burrell collected a team-high 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting and 7-of-11 from behind the arc against Pepperdine on Nov. 30.

▪ - Playing in his third tournament this season, Burrell was selected to the five-man all-tournament team at the Drake Regency Challenge Classic for the second time this season.

▪ - The 6'3 senior guard collected 38 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, and four steals in his two-game tournament performance.

▪ - Nathan Hawkins collected his first piece of hardware of his Bronc career as he as was selected to the five-man Las Vegas Holiday Classic All-Tournament Team on Sunday (Dec. 23).

▪ - In his three-game performance, Hawkins collected 48 points and 17 rebounds to go along with a game-high 19 points and 10 rebounds against Bethune-Cookman (Dec. 22).

Stoll and Jones Leaders Among the Independent Standings
▪ - Senior and floor general, Paul Stoll leads the independent standings averaging 7.2 assists per game in 20 games played.

▪ - In 20 contests, Stoll has posted 15 games of five or more assists and collected 10 or more assists in five games of compeition.

▪ - Earlier this season, Stoll finished with a career-high 12 assists against University of Alabama on (Dec. 19). Stoll's also ranks in the top-10 in six of nine categories.

▪ - Since coming back from an illness, Emmanuel Jones ranks first in field goal percentage. Jones leads the league averaging 53.1 percent in 12 games played.

▪ - Jones finished with a career-high 19 points and eight rebounds against Texas State on (Jan. 5).

▪ - In his first season as a Broncs, Jones has collected 117 total points and is averaging 9.8 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.

Record Setting Five Tournaments
▪ - The Broncs will compete in five tournaments throughout the 2007-08 season. UTPA will make its first stop in Springfield, MO, where the Broncs will sqaure-off against UNC-Greensboro in the first round of the two-day affair.

▪ - UTPA will next travel to the Missouri State University Tournament where they will match-up against West Coast Conference-foe Pepperdine, Montana State, Alcorn State and Western Illinois in the three-day event.

▪ - The Broncs will then set their sights on a tournament championship at the Drake University Tournament in Des Moines, IA, followed by the most spectacular highlight of the season for the Broncs as they will be a part of the Las Vegas Classic for a quartet of games.

▪ - To close out the calendar year, the Broncs will travel to the UCF Holiday Tournament for the second straight season where UTPA advanced to the championship game during the 2006-07 campaign.

▪ - The Broncs will hit the floor against Long Island University in the first round of the tournament before facing off against either University of Central Florida or New Jersey Institute of Technology on the final day of action.

UTPA Adds Hawkins, Nephew of Former NBA Hall of Fame Player
▪ - The basketball gene pool runs deep in the Hawkins' family as his father (Robert) played in the NBA for the Golden State Warriors and his brother (Robert) played his collegiate basketball at St. Mary's University.

▪ - Hawkins is the nephew of NBA Hall of Fame standout George Gervin as well as cousin of former NBA player Derrick Gervin.

▪ - San Antonio, TX product, Hawkins was a standout at Sandra Day O'Connor High School where he was a first team all-region and first team All-District 28-5A selection during his senior campaign.

▪ - Hawkins attended The Lawrenceville Prep School where he was selected as the number-four post guard by New Jersey Hoops. Averaged 14.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game en route to earning Most Valuable Player honors.

Senior Floor General Featured on ESPN
▪ - After leading the Broncs to an 82-68 victory against Houston Baptist last night at the UTPA Fieldhouse, senior guard Paul Stoll was featured on ESPN-Men's Basketball Around the Rim.

▪ - Stoll recorded a career-high 37 points on 7-of-9 shooting, 7-of-9 from three-point range, and a perfect 16-of-16 from the charity stripe, to go along with seven rebounds, and nine assists in 36 minutes of action.

▪ - The 5'11 guard recorded a career-high free throws made, rebounds, and tied his mark of field-goals made. Stoll has finished in double-figures in the Broncs last six games averaging 18.7 points and seven assists per game.

▪ - The 37 points by Stoll is the highest point total by any Bronc since February 11, 2002 when Mire Chatman dropped 44 points over New Mexico State. The floor general was seven points shy of ranking among the top-ten in most points scored in a game.

▪ - Stoll is currently first in the nation with 159 assists and fourth in the nation with 7.2 assists per game.

Trader Brothers Take The Court This Season ▪ - For the first time in family history Zach and Jacob Trader will be teaming up to dominate the inside post positions. This will be the first time the two brothers have ever played on a team together and this also marks the first time in UTPA men's basketball history.

▪ - As an experienced college standout Zach Trader will be looking to lead by example for his team as well as his brother. Trader concluded his junior campaign averaging a career-high 7.9 points per game to go along with 2.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.

▪ - After red-shirting the 06-07 season, Jacob Trader will be looking to his senior, older brother for guidance in his first year of Division I collegiate basketball.

Scouting the Opponent - NJIT
▪ - The Highlanders are coming off a 79-62 setback against Chicago State on Jan. 19 at the Jones Convocation Center in Chicago, Ill.

▪ - NJIT dropped their overall record to 0-20 on the season despite a 20-point effort and 10-rebound game by Nesho Milosevic. The junior shot 6-of-16 from the field, 1-of-1 from three point range, and 7-of-13 from the charity stripe.

▪ - The Highlanders shot just 33.9 percent from the field compared to the Cougars 39.7 percent. Chicago State forced 18 turnovers for NJIT and stole the ball 13 times.

▪ - NJIT enters Saturday's game with an 0-7 home record and a 0-11 road record. The Highlanders have two players averaging in double-figures in Nesho Milosevic with 11.5 points and 7.8 rebounds and Kraig Peters with 11 points and four rebounds per game.

▪ - The Highlanders have yet to win a game this season and have lost by 10 points or more in 20 games played.

▪ - NJIT will meet the Broncs for a third time this season at the UTPA Fieldhouse on February 22 at 3 p.m.

UTPA Sports Information