Men's Basketball | 12/1/2015 9:11:00 PM

UT-Permian Basin men's basketball came back late and stepped up big at the free throw line, making 13 of its final 14 attempts at the stripe and 13 straight to come back for a 99-96 win over Northern New Mexico Tuesday night in Odessa.

Anthony Knight was huge in the final moments, going a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line in the final 6:35 of the second half.

The back and forth game turned for good in the final minute when Knight went to the line and hit back-to-back pairs to pull the Falcons from trailing 93-92 into leading 96-93.

Northern New Mexico missed a pair of shot attempts on consecutive possessions that would have put it in the lead at 21 second and eight seconds remaining, respectively, and Codye Hatcher dropped a pair at the line for a five point, 98-93 advantage.

Thomas Bullock gave the Eagles hope with a 3-pointer as just under three seconds remained, and Josh Williams hit the front end of a pair for UTPB to keep it a one possession game, but the Eagles' full-court attempt was well wide of the backboard to give the Falcons the three-point victory.

Gary Akbar was once again the UTPB offensive focal point, hitting 11-of-15 from the field and 5-of-7 from the line to lead the Falcons with 27 points to go with a team high 12 rebounds. Codye Hatcher added 16 points and six boards on 6-of-9 shooting as one of five Falcons in double figures. Billy Dee Williams hit a pair behind the arc on a cold shooting night from 3-point range for the Falcons to score 15, and Knight's perfect night at the line and the field (3-3 FG) gave him 15 points off the bench. Johnnie Lacy contributed 14 points to round out UTPB players in double figures.

Walid Ahmed led all players on the night with 28 points for Northern New Mexico.

The Falcons are back in action in a week and a half, traveling to Stephensville, Texas, for an exhibition contest at Tarleton State Dec. 14 at 7 p.m.