UTPB men's basketball led by as many as 14 in the first half and held a double digit lead for much of the second half in knocking off Arkansas - Fort Smith 79-73 Saturday afternoon at the Falcon Dome in Odessa.

The Falcons pulled away for the first time after the Lions took their only lead of the day 7-5 at 16:38 of the first half. UTPB rallied back to score 18 of the next 20 points on baskets from six different players to climb out to a 23-11 lead with 12:17 remaining in the first half.

UTPB never led by fewer than nine points in the rest of the first, inlcuding heading into the half with a 40-31 advantage. 

The Falcons led twice by a game-high 15 points in the second half, first on a three-point play from Phadarious Taylor after getting fouled on a layup and a couple possessions later on a layup from Malcolm Hill-Bey with 16:15 remaining in the game.

UAFS took the lead down to seven points at 50-43 with an 8-09 run with 14:46 to play, but the Falcons went back on top by 12 on a three from Madison Turner and a layup from Taylor. 

The Lions closed within eight midway through the half, but the Falcons once again responded with points on threes from Turner and Taylor to get the advantage back to 14 at 66-52.

Codye Hatcher put a close to any Fort Smith rally at the end, getting a dunk with 1:57 left after the Lions had scored four straight to lead 74-65. He hit a free throw a possession later and got another dunk the next time down the court to lead 77-65 before Fort Sith scored eight of the final 10 points as UTPB collected a six point win on its home court.

The Falcons were carried by their starting line up as four of five starters ended the day with double digits in scoring. Hatcher had a game-high 20 points on 7-8 shooting from the floor with a 6-7 performance at the free throw line. Chris Griffin hit 5-7 from 3-point range and went 6-11 from the field to score 17 points. Madison Turner added four 3-pointers to score 14 with a team-high nine rebounds and Taylor had 10 points on the afternoon. Xavier Martin led the Falcons with eight assists and also grabbed eight boards in the game.

DaVaunta Thomas led the Lions with 15 points off the bench.

UTPB hits the road next week, traveling to Austin Thursday night for a 7:30 contest at St. Edward's.