BIlly Dee Williams had a big day in his first game in a Falcon uniform, but it wasn't enough to overcome Colorado State - Pueblo as the UTPB men's basketball team suffered a 96-90 defeat to close out the weekend at the Emerald Beach Hotel Javelina Men's Basketball Tip-Off Challenge in Kingsville, Texas.

Williams out-scored the rest of his teammates in the first half after entering off the bench, scoring 20 points in 17 minutes on 7-of-14 shooting with a 4-of-8 half from 3-point range as the Falcons trailed 35-32 following 20 minutes of basketball.

UTPB stepped up in the second half, scoring the first five points after halftime and led by as many as four points three different times in the half, the final time on a jumper by Gary Akbar the put UTPB in the lead 65-61.

The Falcons were unable to hold off CSU-Pueblo as the Thunderwolves scored eight straight points with a pair of 3-pointers in the span of a minute, and never trailed over the remainder of the final 7:08.

Williams ended the night leading all scorers in the game with 40 points. He connected on 10-of-16 from behind the arc and finished 13-of-22 overall from the field. Akbar scored 15 points and double-doubled with 10 rebounds, while Johnnie Lacy hit 4-of-7 from 3-point range to score 12 points to go with eight rebounds.

Chris Golden led the Thunderwolves offense with 33 points, scoring 27 in the second half.

The Falcons return to Odessa for their home opener Wednesday afternoon, hosting Arlington Baptist at 4 p.m.