Feb. 3, 2007

Box Score

EDINBURG, TX - New Jersey Institute of Technology fought to within five points of Texas-Pan American with 4:30 left in the game, but the Broncs held off the Highlanders, 72-60, in men's basketball Saturday afternoon.

Texas-Pan American, which ran its home record to 10-0 and its overall mark to 12-10, received a game-high 25 points from Brian Burrell. The junior guard made seven of nine shots from the field, including 6-for-8 on three pointers, along with 5-for-6 at the foul line.

Burrell got 16 of his points in the second half and led four double-figure scorers for UTPA. Zach Trader came off the bench for 14 points, while point guard Paul Stoll had 13 points and 8 assists, without a turnover in 28 minutes of work. Julius Allgood added 11 points for the home team.

NJIT lost despite a career-high 13 points for Michael Manning, who made all four of his baskets from three-point range (4-for-5).

The redshirt freshman scored 11 points in his first college game on November 18, 2005, but played in two more game before missing the rest of the year with an injury. He has had more nagging injuries this year, but has appeared in 17 games, 16 as a reserve.

The other double-figure scorers for NJIT were Marc Milbourne Swan (11 points) and Kraig Peters (10). Senior Clayton Barker scored 8, while leading the Highlanders in rebounds (5) and assists (5).

Milbourne Swan, the fifth-year senior, raised his career scoring total to 1,122 points and moved up to 16th on the NJIT career list, passing Rich Olson ('92; 1,118). Milbourne Swan has gone from 19th on the career list to 16th in the last two games.

The Highlanders trailed at the half, 35-23, due in large part to a nearly six-minute drought that saw the UTPA lead go from two, at 20-18, when NJIT's Nesho Milosevic made a basket at the 8:07 mark, to 33-18, before Milosevic broke the dry spell with a bucket at 2:22.

High scorers at the half were Burrell and Allgood, with nine points apiece for the Broncs and Milosevic, with six for the Highlanders.

Texas-Pan American's lead went as high as 16 on three occasions in the second half and it was still in double figures when NJIT's Dan Stonkus scored to make it 53-42 with 8:15 left.

Stonkus' basket sparked a comeback that saw the Highlanders outscore the Broncs, unbeaten at home, 9-3, and close to within five, 56-51, when Barker hit both free throws awarded on a technical foul against the UTPA bench with 4:30 left.

The Highlanders could not get closer, due in part to fine end-game free throw shooting by the Broncs, who were 10-for-10 the rest of the way from the foul line. Stoll, who was 10-for-11 at the line in the game, shot 6-for-6 there after the Highlanders cut the lead to five.

Burrell also made two big three-pointers to help his team close out the win.

NJIT, which has not had a home game since its 59-55 win over Longwood on January 10, will play five of its next six at home, beginning with a 7 pm game on Thursday against South Dakota State in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center.

The game at Texas-Pan American, which is located close to the Mexican border, just inland from the Gulf of Mexico, was the fifth straight away game for the Highlanders. The five-game stretch saw NJIT play in five different states--Indiana, Pennsylvania, New York, Utah and Texas in a span of three and a half weeks.