UTPB men's basketball broke a three game losing streak and closed out a three game homestand with a nine-point, 74-65 victory over Oklahoma Christian Thursday night in Odessa, Texas.

The Falcons had to rebound early after falling behind by five points in the first minute and a half, but came back with an 8-2 run with 3-pointers from Andre Reider and Madison Turner and a layup from Dwayne Soders to go ahead 8-7 after six minutes of action.
 
UTPB increased its lead to eight points at 10:39 of the first on another three from Thomas Feeney as the team hit four of its first eight attemps from behind the arc.

The Falcons went on top by 14 points behind a steal from Keith Martin on a tipped away pass that he took down the court for a breakaway dunk and got a three from Turner following a block by Martin on the other end to lead 29-15. with four minutes to play in the half.

They closed out the half by scoring points on five of their final six possessions to go into halftime with a 40-21 lead over the Eagles.

Soders increased the teams lead up to 21 with a pair of layups on the teams first two possessions out of the half, but the Falcons went cold from the field and failed to hit a field goal over the next six and a half minutes as Oklahoma Christian cut the lead down to just seven points at 46-39.

Turner built the advantage back to double digits with a pair of free throws followed by a layup two possessions later as the Falcons kept their lead hovering around the 10 point mark.

The Eagles made the game close in the final minutes, scoring nine straight points to get within a single possession at 61-58 with just under four minutes remaining.

Turner hit another three on the team's next possession to go back on top by six and the Falcons never trailed by fewer than four points the rest of the night. 

Andre Reider sealed the victory for UTPB in the game's final seconds. Following a made 3-pointer that cut the lead to five with 25 seconds remaining and a UTPB turnover, Reider blocked a 3-point attempt at the top of the arc and grabbed the rebound for a fast-break layup at the other end for a seven-point lead with just :15 seconds to play in the eventual nine point win.

Martin had his most dominant game of the season in the paint for the Falcons, scoring 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting, hitting 7-of-9 at the line to go with a season-high 17 rebounds and matching his season mark of eight offensive rebounds while also adding four steals.

Turner ended the night 6-of-10 from the field with four 3-pointers to pace the Falcons with 18 points while dishing out four assists.

Phadarius Taylor added 12 points, hitting 10-of-12 from the free throw line, and Soders chipped in 10 points on the evening.

Kendre Talley led four scorers in double figures for Oklahoma Christian with 19 points in the night and a game-high five assists.

The Falcons close out a four-game homestand this weekend, hosting Dallas Baptist Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.