UTPB Men's Basketball rode a pair of big runs Saturday afternoon, getting back to .500 in Heartland Conference play with a 95-81 victory over Rogers State.

UT-Permian Basin improves to 6-6 in league action with a month left in regular season play. The Falcons got started Saturday afternoon after Rogers State scored the first points of the day on a 3-pointer with a 10-0 run, taking a 10-3 lead on a layup by Gary Akbar, three from Sam Stirgus, jumper from Codye Hatcher and three-point play by Anthony Knight.

UTPB led by 12 in the first five minutes when Johnnie Lacy hit three free throws at 15:20 of the first.

The Falcons never trailed after the first minute, but Rogers State closed within a point at 23-22 with 8:10 left in the half. Lacy scored five straight and Hatcher added a layup on an assist by Lacy to push the lead back up to eight.

Mario Fleurima hit a pair of threes sandwiched around two from beyond the arc by Rogers State to put UTPB up 11 late in the first, and Lacy hit a layup with four seconds left in the half to keep the lead in double figures at 46-35.

The Hillcats pushed the Falcons early in the second half by cutting the advantage down to 57-51, but Fleurima hit three pointsrs on consecutive possessions to get the lead back to double digits at 63-51 and UTPB never led by fewer than 10 points the remainder of the game.

The Falcons shot lights out, hitting 56.6 percent of its field goals on the afternoon (30-53) while holding Rogers State to 23-65 (35.4 percent).

Lacy led all players with 26 points and seven assists, making his living at the free throw line by connecting on 12-13 attempts. Stirgus made a pair behind the arc and was 6-10 total on the day, scoring 17 points, and Hatcher led UTPB with 13 rebounds to go with 16 points on 7-11 shooting. Fleurima was perfect from 3-point range, hitting all four of his attempts to end the game 5-5 from the field with 16 points in a statement game off the bench.

J.C Harzler led five Rogers State players in double figures with 18 points.

UTPB looks to build on its momentum after wins against two of the top teams in the conference when it heads on the road for five straight games, beginning Thursday night when it takes on St. Edward's at 7:30 in Austin.