Coming off of a tough, one-point loss two days ago at home to #13 West Texas A&M, UT Permian Basin head coach Josh Newman's Falcons came out with intensity and responded how he was hoping they would Saturday night in a 95-81 victory in Lone Star Conference play against Western New Mexico at the UTPB Gym in Odessa.

'Our guys were pretty upset with themselves after the WT game," said Newman. "We felt like we gave the game away and needed to bounce back the right way. We talked about moving on while learning from our mistakes. I thought we did a good job defending Eastern New Mexico's initial action and we took them out of their offensive rhythm. What excites me about our team is we have a lot of room for improvement. We just need to try and get better every day."

UTPB (9-4, 2-1) nearly doubled-up the Greyhounds in the first half when it came to shooting. The Falcons were 21-35 from the field in the first half, hitting 60 percent of their field goal attempts while also making 5-10 from 3-point range. They were able to hold Eastern New Mexico ( 6-6, 3-1) to just 34.4 percent (11-32) on offense while running out to a 15-point 52-37 lead at the half.

The big advantage came in handy in the second half, especially when Jacob Ledoux opened up play after halftime with a 3-pointer and fastbreak layup for a 57-37 lead a minute into the second half.

Eastern New Mexico was able to cut into the Falcon margin, using an 11-2 run to pull within 59-48. Back-to-Back threes from Zach Parker pulled the Greyhounds within six points at 64-58 with 12:56 to play. But UTPB pulled back ahead by double digits on layups by Kyree Elder and Ledet on back-to-back possessions, and the Falcons never led by fewer than nine points the rest of the night in the 14-point win.

"We didn't panic," said Newman. "We dug in defensively and made tough plays which is exactly what we needed to do. I was proud to see us respond the right way."

Xavier Ledet led all players in the game with 20 points and tied for the game lead with eight rebounds. One of five Falcons in double-figures, he hit 8-11 from the field as UTPB ended the night shooting 38-63 as a team (60.3 percent).

Isaiah Hammons added 17 points on 5-10 shooting in the game, tying for the team lead with three steals. Ledoux also nabbed three thefts while scoring 15 points on the night, and Elder added 14 points in the starting lineup. Miles Washington contributed 11 points off the bench while also adding four assists, three steals and a pair of blocks.

Chukuka Emili led five Greyhounds in double-figures with 19 points and eight rebounds.

UTPB heads on the road for the first time in conference action next week, facing Midwestern State Thursday night in Wichita Falls.