2006-2007 Men’s Basketball

LOBO TOURNAMENT LEGACY EXTENDED

Four years, four post-season tournament appearances and a bright future for the Lobo men's basketball program. (2005-06 Team Stats)

Faced with the challenge of a rebuilding season, Sul Ross saw returning veterans supply the leadership and the freshmen and sophomores answered the bell during a 13-13 season in 2005-06.

Six wins in the last seven regular-season games vaulted the Lobos into the American Southwest Conference tournament for a fourth successive year. Sul Ross finished 13-12 in regular season play, 13-9 in the ASC West Division, before falling to eventual loop champion Mississippi College 91-72 in the tournament quarter-finals at Howard Payne University.

Last year's team, with just three seniors - Sidney Hooper (Andrews), Arturo Escobar (El Paso Montwood) and Aaron Hardwick (El Paso Andress) started 3-7, but posted a 10-5 mark after the holidays. As always, the Lobos guarded their Gallego Center den with ferocity, posting a 10-1 home record. In five seasons at the Gallego Center, Sul Ross has an impressive 54-7 log.

Hooper, the ASC's leading scorer with a 22.4 points-per-game average, finished his Sul Ross career with over 1,700 points and two straight years of 20-plus points per contest. Hooper led the team in free throw percentage (.822), steals (61) and was second in assists (58).

Hooper was named the ASC West Division Player of the Year, and for the second straight season, landed a berth on both the All-ASC and All-ASC West Division teams.

Escobar, a reserve in 2004-05, averaged 13.3 points per game as the shooting guard and led the team in three-point shooting percentage (.364), ahead of Hooper's .361.

Hardwick, who customarily drew tough defensive assignments, contributed 8.8 points per game and his determined play down the stretch helped the Lobos reach the tournament.

Junior post C.J. Acosta (El Paso Ysleta), a transfer from Cochise (Ariz.) Junior College, supplied 16 points and 7.3 rebounds, while freshman point guard Matt Santa Cruz (San Antonio South) handed out 81 assists while committing only 56 turnovers, as well as averaging 8.3 points per game. Acosta was named the ASC West Division Newcomer of the Year and gained ASC West Division honorable mention, while both Santa Cruz and Jesus Banuelos (El Paso Jefferson) were named to the All-ASC West Freshman Team.

Sophomores Art Gonzalez (El Paso Eastwood) and Cornell Hunt (Midland Lee) supplied solid minutes at point guard, while post Jermaine Packer (Midland Lee) also came off the bench to strengthen the Lobo rotation. Gonzalez scored a season-high 18 points in the regular season finale against Texas Lutheran University.

Freshmen Banuelos; Abe Ely (El Paso Hanks); Richard Hooper (Andrews); Travis Johnson (Temple); Moises Morales (Fort Hancock); and Matt Jordan (Cincinnati, Ohio) all gained experience during the season and will be counted on for key contributions next season.

Banuelos improved steadily in the post before sustaining a broken hand that caused him to miss the last three games. Ely saw action at small forward, providing versatility with long-range shooting, rebounding and shot blocking. He and Banuelos combined for 8.5 points per contest and 19 blocked shots. Hooper hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to upset McMurry University 107-106 at the Gallego Center, while Morales tallied a season-high 12 points in the playoff-clinching win over TLU. Johnson and Jordan supplied additional depth in the backcourt.