UT Permian Basin men's basketball went toe-to-toe Wednesday night against Division-I University of the Pacific, and the Falcons out-played the Tigers down the stretch in a 74-69 exhibition loss on the road in Stockton, Calif.

The Falcons took their first lead in the game when Demarco Jackson hit a 3-pointer to put UTPB on top 12-10. Jacob Ledoux put UTPB in the lead again in the half on a basket in the paint for a 22-21 lead with 1:11 remaining.

Trailing 27-22 at halftime, UTPB did anything but go away to start the second half. Trailing 29-22, UTPB used a 17-6 run to take a 39-35 lead with 14:34 remaining as UT Permian Basin scored 12 straight points, taking the lead on a three by Ledoux after a 3-pointer from Adam Rivera pulled them within one, and a layup by Xavier Ledet gave the Falcons a 39-35 advantage.

The Falcons led by as many as five when another Jackson basket gave the Falcons a 42-37 lead with 13:29 remaining in the game.

UTPB held its last lead of the night on a Jamani Glover three with 10:52 to play put UTPB back ahead 47-45.

Despite falling behind for the remainder of the game, the Falcons never went away. UTPB cut an eight point, 66-58 Pacific lead down to a 69-67 Tiger advantage on a layup from Ledet, three-pointer by Ledoux and a layup from Rivera with just over a minute to play.

The Falcons shot 53.7 percent as a team on the night, hitting 29-54 from the field. More importantly UTPB played tough defense all game and held the Tigers to 25-54 from the field (44.4 percent) and just 4-20 (20 percent) from 3-point range. Pacific did their damage at the free throw line, hitting 22-28 from the stripe to 3-7 for the Falcons in the game.

"I thought we really guarded tonight, especially in the first half," said head coach Josh Newman. " Obviously we fouled way too much and that was the difference in the game. In the first half we had 14 turnovers but just five after halftime so that's something we hope to continue into Saturday. We've got a quick turnaround for the most important game of the year Saturday and will be getting back to work Thursday as soon as we land."

Ledoux led the Falcons with 15 points, hitting three from 3-point range. Glover added 12 points on 5-10 shooting from the field. Ledet and Washington tied for the team lead with seven rebounds each as the Falcons held a 31-30 rebounding advantage on the night.

UTPB opens its 2018-19 Lone Star Conference schedule this weekend, hosting Western New Mexico at home Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m.