   |
Texas-Pan American Opens GWC Tournament With Win
March 10, 2010
Texas-Pan American 56, Utah Valley 53 OREM, Utah - Nick Weiermiller hit a baseline three-pointer with 0:29 remaining on the clock to put the Broncs up for good and defeat host Utah Valley, 56-53, in the opening game of the Great West Conference Basketball Tournament at Orem, Utah. Weiermiller's trey on an assist from Aaron Urbanus, put the Broncs up by one, 54-53, and the Wolverines would not score the remainder of the game. After two made free throws by GWC honorable mention performer Matt Mierzycki gave UTPA a three-point lead, the potential tying three-pointer at the buzzer by GWC honorable mention honoree Tyray Petty was on the mark but rimmed out giving the Broncs the victory. Utah Valley took a 25-23 lead into the locker room at the half and the game stayed close the rest of the way. "It was really an up and back first half," said UTPA coach Ryan Marks. "Nobody could stretch out the lead and we felt like as a group, staff and players alike, we competed hard in the first half, but we hadn't executed as sharply as we were capable of. Knowing that and being in a close game at that time, we felt that if we could improve our execution a little bit at both ends, we would be there with a chance to win." Weiermiller, a GWC honorable mention selection, led the Broncs with 18 points. Also in double figures for UTPA were Jared Maree with 11 and Mierzycki with 10. Texas-Pan American shot 44 percent (23-52) for the game and Utah Valley shot 36 percent (19-53). From the foul line, UTPA shot 60 percent (3-5), while UVU connected on 12-14 for 86 percent. The Broncs were 5-12 (.417) from the three-point line and the Wolverines were 3-11 for 27 percent. Utah Valley won the rebounding battle 40-27. "I thought both teams played extremely hard and both teams played with a tremendous amount of energy," UVU head coach Dick Hunsaker said. "The credit goes to Texas-Pan American. They made a couple of plays at the end and we weren't able to counter and they came up with a much-deserved victory." UVU's Justin Baker led all scorers with 25 points and posted a double-double with 10 rebounds in the losing effort. Utah Valley concludes its season with a 12-18 record. The Broncs (6-26) will play GWC champion South Dakota on Friday.
|
