#11 UT Permian Basin men's basketball worked through a shaky sequence in the second half that allowed Western State Colorado to erase a double-digit lead and pull within five points four different times, but  UTPB pulled away late in the second half as the Falcons opened their 2017-18 season with an 89-79 win over the Mountaineers at the UTPB Gym Friday night in Odessa.

James McPherson hit a pair of threes in the first three minutes of the second half in helping UTPB double up its six-point halftime lead to 55-43 with 17:21 remaining.

The Falcons led by as many as 14 points in the second half, the second time on a Trayvond Massenburg dunk with over 14 minutes to play, but a pair of 3-pointers followed by a fast-break layup off a steal by Ben Beauchamp but it down to a six-point, 59-53 Falcon advantage.

The Falcons weren't able to put the Mountaineers away until Amari Bryant connected from the corner from three, Daeshon Francis hit a pair at the line, and McPerson added another from downtown on three straight possessions to build the lead back to 14 points.

Francis led the Falcons with 18 points to go with four assists and five rebounds. Josh Morris added 16 points on 7-9 shooting from the field with seven rebounds. McPherson was 4-8 from 3-point range, scoring 14 on the night with four assists. Sammy Allen hit 4-7 shots to score 11 points with eight rebounds. Renard Thomas added a team-best five assists in action off of the bench.

UTPB out-scored Western State 38-20 on the night inside the lane and 19-11 off of turnovers.

Collin Smith led all players in the game with 21 points for the Mountaineers, one of five players on the team in double figures.

The Falcons are back after a quick turnaround, hosting Adams State Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m.