Box Score
EDINBURG, TX—Texas-Pan American's strong second half proved to be the difference for the Broncs, who defeated visiting NJIT 66-53 Thursday night in the first-ever Great West Conference men's basketball game for both programs.
Trailing at halftime, 27-26, UTPA seized control at the start of the second half and gradually pulled away, shooting 10-for-19 from the field, including 3-for-6 on three-point tries, plus 17-for-21 at the foul line for a 40-26 scoring advantage over the final 20 minutes against the guest Highlanders.
Freshman point guard Aaron Urbanus scored all 13 of his points in the decisive second half for Texas-Pan American, hitting 2 of 3 three-point tries and 7 of 8 free throws in 17 second-half minutes. His modest shooting line in the opening have was one missed one three-pointer.
Urbanus shared the Broncs' scoring lead with junior forward Matt Mierczycki, who scored six in the first half and seven in the second half. Mierczycki, too, was potent at the foul line, making all seven of his tries.
Texas-Pan American outshot NJIT decisively at the foul line in a game that was generally even in most other statistical areas. The Broncs made 77 percent of their free throws (24-for-31), while NJIT was a pedestrian 11-for-21 (52 percent) from the line. The Highlanders were just 3-for-9 in the fateful second half.
Senior center Luis Valera added 11 points, plus a game-high eight rebounds for the Broncs, who played just their fourth home game in 18 starts.
NJIT, which got a game-high 16 points from freshman guard Chris Flores and 10 more from Isaiah Wilkerson, had several extended scoring lapses, including a stretch in the opening six minutes-plus of the second half, which put the Highlanders in a hole they never escaped.
Dan Stonkus, NJIT's fifth-year senior center who underwent knee surgery in September and returned to action on December 28, had his best game, contributing a season-high nine points and five rebounds.
Stonkus shared the team lead on the boards with Wilkerson and Jheryl Wilson, while Sammy Schickel added eight points and four rebounds off the bench before fouling out.
NJIT conceded the first basket of the game on a layup by Valera, but the Highlanders answered with six straight points and still led by six, 15-9, on Wilson's layup with 11:36 left in the first half.
The Highlanders then went scoreless for 6:02. Meanwhile, Texas-Pan Am scored eight points for a 17-15 lead before Flores finally got NJIT back on the scoreboard at the 5:34 mark.
The teams went back and forth for the next few minutes until the Highlanders broke a 22-22 tie with a 5-1 run heading into the last minute of the half. UTPA's Rico Seagears then made a three-point bucket from the left corner on a shot that actually glanced off the backboard, despite the fact that he was shooting from the corner.
NJIT led 27-26 at the end of a first half that saw seven ties and five lead changes. Flores had seven points to pace the Highlanders at the break, while Mierzycki's six points topped the Broncs.
The first play of the second half may have foreshadowed some of NJIT's upcoming woes, when the Highlanders inbounded from midcourt and worked the ball for an uncontested back door layup attempt, only to miss the first shot.
After a UTPA turnover and another missed shot from in close by the Highlanders, Nick Weiermiller hit a three-pointer—his only basket of the game—and the Broncs never trailed again.
Wilkerson scored what would be NJIT's only basket in the opening 6:06 of the second half to force the eighth, and final, tie of the contest at the 17:04 mark.
But 21 seconds later, Jared Maree, who is just 6-foot-3, threw down a one-step, one-handed baseline dunk for the Broncs, sparking a 7-0 spurt that gave them a permanent lead that withstood a couple of NJIT surges later on.
NJIT actually pulled to within a point of the lead, 36-35, on Wilkerson's two free throws after UTPA was charged with a technical foul for having six men on the court with 12:52 left.
But the Highlanders committed turnovers on three of the next four possessions and the Broncs made them pay with eight unanswered points to go ahead 44-35 heading into the last nine minutes.
NJIT kept its hopes alive a few minutes more and trailed by five with 6:03 left. But the home team would not allow a comeback down the stretch, making all three of its shots from the floor and shooting 11-for-13 at the foul line the rest of the way to secure the win.
The Highlanders will continue the Texas part of their first Great West road trip, visiting Houston Baptist for a game Saturday night with a scheduled 7:35 pm Central Time tip.
All men's start times in the conference are subject change, as they are part of doubleheaders that open with games between their women's basketball counterparts from the same schools..
Saturday night's game at Houston Baptist will also mark the end of a tough stretch in the schedule that had seen the NJIT men play nine out of 10 games away from home.
