box score

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The University of Texas of the Permian Basin men's basketball team fell into a hole in the first half but was able to recover late in the second only to see a comeback fall by the wayside as the Falcons dropped a 71-67 decision to Western Oregon in the Clarion Inn Thanksgiving Classic.

The Falcons fell behind by 10 (29-19) with 3:28 to go in the first and eventually went into the locker room down 34-22. UTPB shot just 25.9 percent from the field and made just one of 14 three-point attempts.

Jamal Holden, who scored a game-high 22 points, brought the Falcons within single digits (38-31) with 16:43 to go after draining one of his two three-pointers on the day. He has now led the team in scoring in four of the six games thus far.

Michael Akins would eventually tie the game at 45 with 10:56 to go after a pair of made free throws before Erik Martin gave UTPB its first lead of the game after a layup a minute later. The Falcons would hold the lead until Alex Hart, who scored a team-high 20 points, tied it at 53 with 7:18 to go.

The Wolves would take over the lead at the 6:37 mark and would hold it until Ke'Andre Derrick threw a dunk down with 5:30 to go to give the Falcons a brief 59-58 advantage. The lead would go back-and-forth until Holden gave UTPB its final lead of the game with a pair of free throws with 3:57 to go.

Weylan Towns made a layup seconds later to give Western Oregon a 63-62 advantage it would keep the rest of the way.

The Falcons out-scored Western Oregon 45-37 in the second half and shot 50 percent from the field. Derrick and John Wolfe also finished in double-figures for the Falcons with 12 and 10 points respectively.

UTPB fell to 1-5 on the year and will finally play its home-opener on Wednesday, Dec. 1 against Abilene Christian at 7 p.m. in the Falcon Dome.