UTPB Athletics

UT Permian Basin men's basketball wrapped up a successful opening weekend with a 12-point, 98-86 win against Western Colorado State in Gunnison, Colo.

The Falcons raced out to control the game as part of a 13-0 run over three minutes that saw a 14-14 tie game  turn into a 27-14 Falcon lead. The run featured six straight points on consecutive possessions by Adam Rivera, five straight points by Demarco Jackson, and a layup from Kyree Elder.

The Mountaineers were able to pull within five points two different times over the remainder of the half, but the Falcons stretched their advantage back out to double digits and led 47-35 at the half. Elder led the Falcons with 11 points in the first half while Jackson was a perfect 3-3 from the field with a pair of threes off the bench to add 10 points.

Western State was able to pull within five points early after start of the second half, but the Falcons led by a comfortable margin for much of the second half. Isaiah Hammons had a big final 20 minutes for UTPB, scoring 14 of his 21 points in the second half on 4-7 from the field while making all five of his free throws. Jacob Ledoux added 11 points with another 5-5 effort from the line in the final 20 minutes.

Five different Falcons finished in double figures. Joining Hammons was Rivera with 16 points on 7-10 field goals, Elder and Ledoux each scoring 15 points, and Jackson adding 10 points.

UTPB dominated on the glass on the night, out-rebounding Western Colorado 48-36. Maurice Walton led all players with 11 boards for the Falcons.

UT Permian Basin also controlled play at the free throw line, hitting 83.8 percent of their attempts (31-37), while the Mountaineers were just 16-24 from the line.

"I love the fact that we have such balanced scoring and so many guys can contribute any given night," said head coach Josh Newman. "We've been able to establish an inside presence as well as a perimeter threat. We've also been able to win the free throw line battle which is important. 

"Rebounding is all effort and we've tried to make it a focus from day one. With our size and length there is no reason we shouldn't be a very good rebounding team. In regards to the free throw line, I've always tried to get my teams to be aggressive and attack in transition.  We want to put as much pressure on our opponents as possible. We've also tried to establish an real inside presence and that puts defenses in a difficult position."

Through two games, the Falcons lead all Lone Star Conference teams in scoring, averaging 99.5 points per game on offense.

UTPB is back in action next weekend, traveling to Laredo, Texas, for games against St. Mary's and Texas A&M International.