UT-Permian Basin men's basketball used a strong finish in the first half to enter halftime with a three-point, 38-35 lead over Texas A&M International, but the Dustdevils came back with an 11 point run to take the lead and used another large run to build an 11 point lead, large enough to hold off the Falcons and send UTPB home with a  78-73 Heartland Conference loss Saturday afternoon in Odessa.

Trailing by as many as nine points in the first half, UTPB turned the score around and took its first lead of the game when Codye Hatcher tied the score on a layup and hit a free throw the next time down the court to go ahead 16-15.

The Falcons went on top by five points three different times towards the end of the first half; on a three-point play by Tramique Sutherland, a pair of free throws by Anthony Knight, and a 3-pointer by Sam Stirgus with 55 seconds remaining, and went into halftime leading by three.

TAMIU pulled back and went on an 11-point run, turning a three-point UTPB lead into a 54-46 Dustdevils lead.

Stirgus pulled UTPB level with a three at 57-57, and the Falcons went up by four when Josh Williams hit a pair at the line after a flagrant foul and a basket by Knight to lead 61-57.

The Falcons went cold over the next five minutes as the Dustdevils held them to just two points, outscoring them 16-2 to go ahed by 10 points 73-63 with just 3:37 remaining. 

A three-point play from Gary Akbar and a 3-pointer following a turnover by Knight brought UTPB back withing four, and a layup with 34 seconds remaining by Hatcher cut the lead to 75-73, but the Falcons mised their last three field goal attempts in the game, including a chance to take the lead after a midcourt steal and 3-point attempt that was rebounded by Texas A&M International.

Despite battling foul trouble for much of the second half, Akbar led the Falcons with 21 points and six rebounds, hitting 7-10 field goal chances on the day. Knight and Stirgus each scored 11 points with Sutherland added 10 points and three assists.

Anthony Alston led all scorers with 22 points on a 6-8 afternoon from the field, and Deonnte Breedlove added 20 points with four 3-pointers.