UT-Permian Basin held a sizeable first half lead Thursday night, but saw it slip away when St. Edward's got hot and rebounded to take a 76-73 Heartland Conference contest in Austin, Texas.

The Falcons were up 40-29 at halftime behind a collective 12-21 performance shooting from the field. Codye Hatcher and Johnnie Lacy each scored 10 points in the opening half, Hatcher on 4-5 shooting and Lacy hitting 7-8 from the free throw line to go with a 3-pointer. Hatcher also led the Falcons with eight rebounds as UTPB held a commanding 22-9 rebound advantage.

The fortunes changed in the second half as the Hilltoppers flipped the numbers, hitting nearly 60 percent of its shots in the final 20 minutes after shooting below 30 percent in the first half while holding the Falcons to make just 36 percent of its attempts after half.

Trailing by five in the final seconds, Lacy hit the first pair of three free throws to pull within a possession, and Darnell Vandivort grabbed the offensive rebound on the miss on his third attempt, but a game-tying 3-pointer by Gary Akbar was blocked before time expired.

Hatcher was dominant in the post, ending the night with 21 points and 15 rebounds, both game highs for both teams. Lacy added 14 points and Akbar scored 10 to go with seven rebounds.

Ramir Burton led the Hilltoppers with 19 points.