UT Permian Basin senior Pat Dembley led all players with 27 points Saturday night, but the Falcons were unable to recover from a slow start in the first half in suffering a 111-91 loss to 2018 NCAA Champion Ferris State at the D2 Kick Off Classic in Orange, Calif.

Shooting from beyond the arc helped Ferris State in the first half as the Bulldogs hit 10-18 from 3-point range to 5-14 by the Falcons, three coming from Dembley. Ferris State shot 63 percent from the field as Jaylin McFadden helped the Bulldogs to a 62-41 lead at halftime behind 17 first half points.

For the second straight night, the Falcons found their shooting touch after halftime. Donoven Carlisle hit 5-7 from the field for 12 points with four rebounds, Carson Newsome was 3-4 with eight points, and Dembley went to the line 10 times and hit nine attempts to add 16 points in the second half as UTPB shot 52 percent in the final 20 minutes while out-scoring Ferris State 50-49.

Dembley ended the night the game's leading scorer, hitting four 3-pointers to score 27 points. He also led the Falcons with four steals and six assists. 

Carlisle had 21 points on 8-13 shooting while hitting 3-4 from 3-point range and a team-best seven rebounds. 

Newsome had 13 points and five assists, and Adam Rivera scored 12 points with five rebounds off of the bench for UT Permian Basin.

The Falcons close out the three-game weekend Sunday night, taking on Wayne State.