box score

ABILENE – The University of Texas of the Permian Basin men's basketball team had four players score in double-figures, but it wasn't enough as Abilene Christian came away with an 80-79 victory over the Falcons.

Erik Martin led the way with 20 points for UTPB, while Jamal Holden, Ke'Andre Derrick and Louis Crane put in 15, 14 and 12 points respectively.

The Falcons led for nearly the entire first half, including a 43-42 advantage at the break and except for the first basket of the first half, they led the majority of the second until Alex Richman gave the Wildcats a 66-65 lead after he hit a three-pointer, his only field goal of the game, with 7:08 to go.

UTPB led by as many as eight (15-7) in the first half after Derrick made a layup with 14:42 to go. Abilene Christian would pull within one on two different occasions before taking a 35-33 advantage after Preston Davis made a three-pointer with 4:32 to go before the break. The lead would not last long as John Wolfe tied the game at 35 before Martin gave the Falcons the lead for good in the first half with a layup at the 3:35 mark.

Martin gave the Falcons a 61-51 lead, their largest of the game, when he drained one of his two three-pointers on the night at the 13:59 mark which capped off a 5-0 run. UTPB would hold the lead until Richman hit three-straight free throws to give Abilene Christian a 69-67 lead with 5:10 to go. They would not lose the lead the rest of the way.

Holden kept the game interesting as he hit a pair of free throws for the Falcons with 1:56 to go to bring them within one (74-73). The Wildcats went on a 4-0 run to lead 78-73 after a pair of free throws by Zach Williams. Davis would eventually give ACU an 80-76 lead with 20 seconds to play after a pair of free throws, but a three-pointer by Crane pulled the Falcons within one (80-79) with 12 seconds to go. A turnover by the Falcons with two seconds ruined any chance of a late comeback win.

UTPB will be back in action next Friday when it takes on Tarleton State in the Tarleton State Classic in Stephenville at 7 p.m.