Senior Anthony Dees led UTPB with 24 points with four three pointers as the Falcons men's basketball team went on the road and took down Division-I Texas A&M-Corpus Christi  82-77 Sunday afternoon in an exhibition contest at the Bank America Center in Corpus Christi, Texas.

UTPB claimed control of the lead six different times in the first half, leading by as many as four points two different times in the opening 20 minutes. Dwayne Soders scored four straight on a pair of shots early in the game to put the Falcons on top 6-2 and Thomas Feeney his a three at 10:09 to go ahead 19-15.

The Islanders held a five points lead with eight minutes remaining in the first, but back-to-back shots from behind the arc from Dees put the lead back in UTPB's control.

Texas A&M-CC hit a pair from the free throw line with four seconds left to break the seventh tie of the half and go into halftime leading 37-35.

The Islanders looked like they were getting ready to break out a couple of times in the second half, upping their advantage to eight points twice out of halftime.

But the Falcons stayed resilient, clawing back to a one-possession game on free throws from Dees and a layup with a free throw by Phadarius Taylor to get within three points. 

A Dees 3-pointer at 12:15 left UTPB trailing by a single point, and Madison Turner followed suit after TAMCC went back on top by three to tie the contest at 52-52.

Keith Martin put the Falcons in the driver's seat for the first time in the second half with two free throws for a 58-57 lead. Martin hit a basket and sunk a free throw after being fouled on the attempt for a four-point advantage, and a basket by Soders with 6:20 remaining put UTPB on top with its largest lead of the night at 63-57.

The Falcons kept the game at at least two possessions and led by as many as eight points down the stretch before the Islanders pulled within three at 71-68 with just 2:05 remaining.

UTPB made its last few possessions count, either making a basket ot connection on at least one of two free throw attempts in each possession in the final two minutes before icing the game with two free throws by Dees to lead by the final score of 82-77 with just three seconds remaining.

Three other Falcons along with Dees scored in double figures on the night; Taylor chipped in 12 points while Soders and Feeney each contributed 11. Keith Martin was a point away from a double-double eith nine points and a team-high 10 boards.

John Jordan led all scorers with 25 points on the day and was backed up by Jeff Beverly who scored 20.