Box Score
The University of Texas of the Permian Basin men's basketball team quickly dug itself out of a 9-0 hole early Saturday afternoon, rallying to score its first Heartland Conference win of the season 65-49 against Oklahoma Panhandle State.
OPSU (4-11, 0-4) hit three of their first four shots, all 3-pointers, in taking a 9-0 lead just 1:53 in to the game.
Bill Lee capped off a three-possession stretch that saw the Aggies hit a pair of 3-pointers around a
Tyler Reynolds three for UTPB that pushed the OPSU lead out to 18-8.
The Falcons (5-7, 1-3) needed just under three minutes to erase that lead, tying the game on an
Anthony Dees three with 9:20 remaining in the half as part of a 14-0 run by UTPB that put it in the lead 22-18.
UT-Permian Basin never trailed in the remainder of the half, and back-to-back threes from Reynolds and
Xavier Martin helped the Falcons take a 33-24 lead into the half.
The Aggies were only able to get within six points of the Falcons in the second half as UTPB held OPSU to 33 percent shooting while hitting 10-12 of its free throws. Lee hit a shot with 12:10 left that got Oklahoma Panhandle to 41-35, but a
Rob Heyer free throw followed later by a
Keith Martin layup and a Heyer steal at midcourt with a breakaway dunk increased the Falcons lead back out to 11.
Martin paced the Falcons with 16 points on the night to lead all scorers, hitting 5-8 from the field, including both of his 3-point attempts, and each of his four free throws. Heyer added 14 points and a team-best eight rebounds.
Lee double-doubled for OPSU, leading the team in both points (12) and rebounds (10).
The Falcons are back in action next week, hosting Arkansas-Fort Smith at 7:30 p.m. Thursday night.
