#11 UT Permian Basin men's basketball survived a last-second basket in regulation and left Saturday night with a 125-115 double-overtime victory over Adams State to start its season 2-0 at the UTPB Gym in Odessa.
UTPB, which led by as many as 17 points in the second half, was tied with the Grizzlies in the final minute after a dunk by Frederick Jackson.
Sammy Allen put UTPB back in the lead by a pair on a layup with 40 seconds remaining, but Brandon Sly tied the game with .4 seconds on a drive to the hoop. He went to the line after being fouled in the process, but missed his free throw to send the game to overtime.
UTPB led early in the first overtime session, and went ahead by three points late in the extra five minutes on a pair at the line by Daeshon Francis, but a 3-pointer by Jarrett Givens tied the game at 109-109, and a bucket at the end of the first OT by Francis fell short to send the game to another five minutes.
UTPB took control in the second overtime period, running its lead out to eight points on seven straight points, by four different players to lead 122-114.
The Falcons shot 62 percent from the field on the night, hitting 39-63 FG. UTPB was 7-13 for the game from 3-point range while the Grizzlies hit 7-9 from three in the second half in coming back to tie the game after 40 minutes.
Francis proved why he was the 2017 Lone Star Conference Player of the Year and the 2017-18 Preseason Player of the Year, leading the Falcons with 36 points and 11 rebounds on 6-10 FG and a 23-29 day at the free throw line., including making his first 12 attempts at the stripe.
James McPherson added 21 points, hitting 6-11 from the field and all seven attempts at the line. Sammy Allen and Josh Morris each scored 16 points, Allen grabbing eight boards and Morris seven rebounds. Trayvond Massenburg added 14 points off the bench, hitting 6-7 field goal attempts.
Jarrett Givens scored 26 points on 9-13 shooting to lead Adams State. Sly added 24 points with nine assists to lead all players.
UTPB is back home this week, hosting Lubbock Christian in a mid-week non-conference contest at 7 p.m. Wednesday night.
