UT Permian Basin men's basketball had to fight through being in foul trouble nearly the entire 40 minutes in its season opener Friday afternoon as the Falcons were whistled for 38 total infractions, 19 in each half, and UC-Colorado Springs spent more than 30 minutes in the bonus as UTPB rallied to hold on for a 93-86 win in Stephenville, Texas.
UTPBÂ used a 50 percent shooting effort as a team while holding the Mountain Lions to just 33 percent to hold a 51-42 lead at the break. The Falcons led by as many as 12 points in the first half when
Steven Powell converted a trio of free throws with 1:09 to play in the first.
Johnnie Lacy (14),
Daeshon Francis (11) and Powell (10) all scored in double figures in the first 20 minutes.
Colorado Springs ate into the UTPB advantage midway through the second half, scoring nine straight points to take its first lead 67-67 with 10:02 remaining.
A
James McPherson three and a pair at the line by Lacy over the next minute helped UTPB push its lead back out to four points, and a basket by McPherson and two straight offensive board putbacks by
Andrew Poulter helped UTPB lead 80-71.
The Falcons won despite not hitting a field goal after a Lacy 3-pointer with 4:20 remaining in the game, but also held Colorado Sprints to just one bucket in the final three minutes and just four total points over that stretch.
Lacy led all players in the game with 27 points, hitting 4-9 beyond the arc and 15-18 at the line. Francis added 19 points before fouling out, connecting on 7-13 from the field with six rebounds. McPherson added 11 points with three 3-pointers, while Powell had 10 points off the bench and
Josh Morris added 11 on a perfect 4-4 night from the floor. Freshman
Andres Villa added six points on three shots and a team-high eight rebounds in his first game.
UTPB is back in action in Stephenville Saturday afternoon, taking on Adams State again at 2 p.m.
