UT Permian Basin men's basketball fought through a rough offensive night for both teams, and a strong night at the free throw line helped the Falcons out-last Texas A&M International 53-50 Saturday night in Laredo, Texas.

The Falcons shot just 13-36 from the field on the night, but hit 22-31 free throws (71 percent), doubling up the Dustdevils at the line (11-16). TAMIU hit 18-49 from the field but were just 3-21 from 3-point range. Both teams had trouble holding onto possession; UTPB committing 27 turnovers and Texas A&M International turning over possession 22 times.

"I think we set the game of basketball back 20 years tonight," said head coach Josh Newman. "It was ugly in every way but we found a way to pull it out. I was glad to see the guys respond after Friday night. Going 3-1, all on the road this early in the year is a great start for this team. We've got to get back to work and prepare for our long overdue home opener."

UTPB started to take over in the final six minutes of the first half. Trailing 13-11, the Falcons scored 16 points in the remainder of the half, seven by Jacob Ledoux and five from  Amanze Njoku-Ibe to take a 27-21 lead into halftime. 

The Falcons led by as many as 15 points with 7:03 remaining after free throws by Jamani Glover, layup by Maurice Walton and 3-pointer by Kyree Elder helped the Falcons score seven straight to go ahead 44-29.

The large margin would come into play in the final minutes as the Dustdevils hit eight of nine of their final field goals to make the game close late.

Xabier Gomez hit one of two at the free throw line to make it a one possession game at 51-48 with 33 seconds remaining, but Isaiah Hammons locked up the win by sinking both of his foul shot attempts with nine minutes remaining.

"Texas A&M International is really tough and physical on the defensive end," said Newman.  "They do a great job of taking you out of your initial offense and they force you to make basketball plays. I thought we did a very good job of defending up until the final two minutes, and was overall pleased with our defensive effort."

Ledoux led all players in the game, scoring 18 points on 5-10 shooting from the field with a pair of 3-pointers and a 6-8 night at the free throw line. He also had a team-best four assists. Xavier Ledet added eight rebounds to lead all players in the game.

Brent Finn led Texas A&M International as one of three players in double figures, scoring 16 points on the night.

UT Permian Basin returns home this week for its 2018 home opener. The Falcons welcome Sul Ross to Odessa Wednesday night for a 5:30 p.m. Thanksgiving Eve tip-off.