#20 UT Permian Basin led for most of the game and held an 11-point lead in the first half, but 19 turnovers and 11 3-pointers by #13 West Texas A&M helped the Buffs claim the LSC Tournament Championship Sunday night at Dr Pepper Arena in Frisco, Texas.

In a back and forth fight between the top two seeds of the tournament UTPB gained the upper hand first, leading 16-7 on four straight points by Zeldric King off the bench.

A pair at the line by Daeshon Francis eight minutes in gave the Falcons their first double-digit lead at 21-11.

Four minutes later another bucket by the two-time Lone Star Conference Player of the Year give UTPB its largest lead of the night at 28-17.

An 11-0 run by West Texas A&M brought the game back to even at 28-28, and the Falcons held a three point lead at half by scoring the final four points on a layup by Andres Villa and two at the line by Francis.

A 7-2 stretch in the first minute and a half after halftime put the Falcons back on top by eight when Francis completed a three-point play and took a pass from James McPherson for a fastbreak dunk.

The game turned in West Texas' favor  when WT's Jordan Evans drilled a 3-pointer to tie the game 60-60 with 8:05 to play. The Falcons were also called for an off-ball flagrant foul on the play, resulting in two more made free throws and a possession, which was another jumper by Evans. The seven-point possession turned a 60-57 lead into a 64-60 Buffs lead.

UTPB was forced to play the final six and a half minutes without Francis after he fouled out of the game on an offensive charge call. 

The Falcons got back within a pair of points on a layup from Villa with five minutes remaining, and a three-point play by King three minutes later gave UTPB a 71-70 lead.

David Chavlovich and CJ Jennings scored on the next two WT possessions for a 74-71 advantage with a minute remaining, and the Falcons never got closer than a point behind the rest of the game.

Francis led UTPB in scoring with 18 points, adding 10 rebounds with five assists. He became the program's all-time leading scorer, surpassing Madison Turner. Francis now sits in first with 1,211 total points over the last two seasons.

Sammy Allen led all players with 19 rebounds and scored 17 points with six assists.

King scored a season-high 13 points in 19 minutes off the bench.

UTPB out-rebounded West Texas A&M 48-32 on the day, grabbing 13 offensive rebounds.

The Falcons controlled the paint, scoring 48 points in the lane to giving up just 22.

A night after committing a season-low three turnovers, the Falcons gave away possession 19 times, leading to 19 points off of turnovers.

The Falcons will learn their NCAA fate in just a couple of hours. Visit NCAA.com at 9:30 Sunday night as the NCAA DII MBB Tournament bracket pairings will be revealed.