UTPB Men's Basketball led by as many as 13 points and held a double-digit advantage in the second half, but St. Mary's ended the night on a 29-17 run to complete the comback to defeat the Falcons 76-73 Thursday night in San Antonio, Texas.

Phadarius Taylor led all players with 12 first half points as the Falcons shot 50 percent from the floor in holding the lead for the entirety of the first half.

Madison Turner hit a 3-pointer for the first points of the game, and hit a fast break layup on a steal following a layup by Taylor for a quick 7-0 lead to start the game.

A layup on the break by Anthony Dees and a tip in from Taylor on his own missed basket put UTPB up by double digits for the first time at 20-10 at the mid-point of the first half.

Turner answered a basket from St. Mary's with a three of his own at 6:25 for the team's largest lead of the night at 29-16.

The Rattlers hit a three in the final minute for the last basket of the half, but the Falcons still held a six point. 37-31 advantage after the first.

Four points by Keith Martin on a dunk three minutes in to the second half and a pair of free throws helped UTPB claim a double digit lead once more to lead 48-37.

St. Mary's cut its deficit down to a single possession halfway though the second, scoring seven points on three straight baskets to trail 56-54.

The Rattlers took their first lead at 59-58 with six and a half minutes to play, and led by as many as six points with under a minute remaining.

The Falcons still had a chance at the end of the game to tie, staying alive when Cristopher Taylor hit a 3-pointer with 18 seconds to play to get within two at 73-71.

A Taylor layup with seven seconds put the Falcons down by a point at 74-73, and a 3-pointer following a pair of free throws for St. Mary's missed the mark on a chance to tie the game.

Taylor scored 21 points to lead all players on the night, hitting 9-of-13 from the field and leading the Falcons with four assists. Dwayne Soders added 15 points and eight rebounds with Madison Turner contributing 13 and nine.

Marvin Binney paced three Rattler scorers in double figures with 15 points.

The Falcons travel to Laredo, Texas, Saturday afternoon for a 3 p.m. game at Texas A&M International.