Feb. 8, 2008

Game Notes - NJIT in PDF Format
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Game Information
▪ - The University of Texas - Pan American men's basketball program will match-up against New Jersey Institute of Technology on Saturday (Feb. 9) with game-time slated for 7:05 p.m.

▪ - The Broncs are coming off a 71-68 setback against UT Arlington on Tuesday (Feb. 5) at Texas Hall.

▪ - UTPA has dropped its last three games and fell to 14-13 on the season.

▪ - This will be the fifth all-time meeting between both squads and the third this season. The Broncs hold a 4-0 advantage over the Highlanders.

▪ - The last meeting between both teams was on Jan. 26 where the Broncs recorded a 54-42 victory in Newark, NJ.

▪ - In that game, Nathan Hawkins finished with 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting, 5-of-11 from the charity stripe while Paul Stoll chipped in with nine points, six assists and a career-high nine steals.

▪ - Faithful of the UTPA men's basketball team will have an opportunity to listen to the game on audiosportsonline.net with Broncs' play-by-play announcer Jonah Goldberg. Pre-game coverage begins at 6:50 p.m.

Last Game - Chicago
▪ - The University of Texas Arlington Mavericks (15-6) couldn't pull away but held on to beat the University of Texas Pan-American Broncs men's basketball team (14-13) 71-68 tonight at Texas Hall. The Broncs have lost three in a row.

▪ - Senior guard Paul Stoll was hot from the get-go, scoring the Broncs' first eight points. Fellow senior guard Brian Burrell was also ready to go, recording six of the Broncs' seven rebounds in the opening four minutes.

▪ - Seior forward Zach Trader hit a two-pointer from behind the free throw line with 8:11 to go in the second half to put the Broncs ahead, 56-55.

▪ - Rod Epps hit a three-pointer as the shot clock to give the Mavericks the lead back, 60-58, with 5:30 to go.

▪ - Burrell answered with a three-pointer of his own to tie the game at 62 with 3:52 remaining.

▪ - Junior guard Emmanuel Jones made it 64-62 Broncs by hitting a pair of free throws with 3:16 left.

▪ - Larry Posey answered with a pair of free throws of his own with 2:49 left to tie the game at 64. With 2:29 remaining, Burrell hit a long two to give the Broncs their last lead at 66-64.

▪ - Anthony Vereen hit a lay-up and got fouled with 1:57 left to convert on the three-point play to make it 67-66.

▪ - The Broncs had a chance to win at the end, down 71-68 with possession of the ball and the shot clock off, but were unable to get the look they were hoping for.

▪ - Trader led the Broncs with 21 points on 8-17 shooting 5-of-7 from the charity stripe and four assists.

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.

Stoll Selected as Independent Player of the Week
▪ - UTPA senior Paul Stoll was selected as the Independent Player of the Week, which was announced on Monday (Jan. 28), following his efforts this past week in a pair of Bronc victories over Houston Baptist and NJIT.

▪ - Senior guard, Paul Stoll had one of the best weeks of his career as he led the Broncs to their sixth straight win and a 2-0 record this week. In two games, Stoll averaged 23 points, five rebounds, 7.5 assists, and five steals per game.

▪ - The senior floor general 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 with seven rebounds, and nine assists in 36 minutes of action in a 82-68 victory against Houston Baptist (Jan. 23).

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

▪ - The 5'11 guard recorded a career-high free throws made, rebounds, and tied his mark of field-goals made. Stoll finished with another career night against NJIT (Jan. 26) when he recorded a career-high nine steals to go with nine points, six assists, and three rebounds in a 54-42 win.

▪ - Stoll was recently featured on ESPN-Around the Rim for his 37 point effort against Houston Baptist.

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.

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.

Scouting the Opponent - New Jersey Institute of Technology

▪ - NJIT enters Saturday's game with a 0-24 record and an 0-11 road record. The Highlanders suffered a 78-68 setback over Longwood on Monday (Jan.4) at the Fleisher Athletic Center.

▪ - Kraig Peters finished with 16 points on 4-of-15 shooting, 3-of-11 from behind the arc, 5-of-6 from the charity stripe to go with five rebounds, two assists while Kyle Edwards collected 16 points of his own and eight rebounds. Nesho Milosevic chipped in 14 points and six rebounds in the setback.

▪ - In the last 20 minutes of the game, the Highlanders hit 18-of-26 second-half free throws in the face of NJIT's attempt to trade foul shots for possession of the ball.

▪ - For the game, NJIT finished shooting 35.5 percent compared to Longwood's 40.7 percent from the field and were out-rebounded by a 51-32 margin .

▪ - The Highlanders are led by Nesho Milosevic averaging 11.8 points and 7.6 rebounds per game.

▪ - NJIT will play four of its final five games on the road, beginning with the Broncs on Saturday night at 7p.m.

UTPA Sports Information