UT-Permian Basin men's basketball picked up its second win against a Division I team in three years Sunday night, holding off UTSA for a 90-85 victory at the Convocation Center in San Antonio, Texas.

The win, the Falcons' fifth straight over the last two weeks, came as they held a 40-35 halftime lead despite falling behind 9-2 in the early moments of the first half. Billy Dee Williams gave UTPB its first lead at 10-9 as a pair of 3-pointers from Williams and Johnnie Lacy gave the Falcons an 8-0 run. UT-Permian Basin led by as many as seven on a Mario Fleurima layup to go ahead 22-15, and the Falcons had the lead over the final 11:12 of the first half to enter the break with a five-point advantage.    

UTPB took the lead to double digits behind five straight points on a three from Josh Williams and a pair at the free throw line by Tramique Sutherland to go ahead 70-60 with 8:42 to play.

Just over a minute later, Lacy hit another three to extend the UTPB lead to 75-64, but the Roadrunners responded with the next eight points to get within a possession at 75-72. UTSA later tied the game on five points in a row, evening the score at 78-78 on a 3-pointer from JR Harris.

Harris later tied the game again at 80-80 with 3:27 to play, but Anthony Knight went to the line and hit a pair to push the lead back to two. 

Texas San Antonio got the UTPB lead down to a single point three different times in the final 2:45, but the Falcons answered each time; the first with a layup by Codye Hatcher, the second on a jumper by Gary Akbar and the final time with two free throws from Sutherland to stretch the lead to 88-85.

UTSA missed three layups on its final possession, including one that was blocked by Hatcher, and Sutherland put the game away with a layup as one second remained in the game for the 90-85 win.

Akbar led the Falcons with 20 points in the win, connecting on 7-of-8 from the floor to go with a 6-of-7 night from the line and a team-best six rebounds. Williams added 16 points and five boards, while Lacy went 4-of-7 from 3-point range to add 12 points while Sutherland had 10 points with four assists.

The Falcons are back home on Tuesday, hosting Northern New Mexico at 7 p.m.