ODESSA, Texas (November 23, 2024) – Four players scored in double-digits as The University of Texas Permian Basin men's basketball team won 65-62 over Angelo State University in its Lone Star Conference opener on Saturday afternoon inside the Falcon Dome.

UTPB (3-1 overall, 1-0 LSC) was led by DJ Armstrong with a season-high 22 points on 6-for-8 shooting from three.

Alex Matthews scored 17 points on 50 percent shooting (5-10) from the field and a 6-for-8 mark from the free throw line. Matthews also matched Kyle Whippen with a game-high seven rebounds.

Freddie Word added 12 points and six rebounds and shot 4-for-5 from the free throw line while Maison Adeleye had 10 points to go along with five boards and four assists.

UTPB shot 50 percent or better from three in both halves and was 9-for-17 (52.9 percent) overall while Angelo State (2-2, 0-1) was just 1-for-11 (9.09) from three in the first half and was 6-for-22 (27.3 percent) for the game. Coming into the game, the Rams led the LSC with a 45.8 percent shooting mark from three, and also had one of the stingiest defenses from beyond the arc, holding the opposition to just 25.4 percent shooting from deep, the third-best mark in the league.

UTPB led by as many as 10 points (29-19) in the first half after a 3-pointer by Matthews in the final minute and led by eight points (29-21) at the break.

ASU tied it at 34-34 with a 3-pointer by Kaden Evans five minutes into the second half and took the lead (39-37) on a 3-pointer by Carvell Teasett less than a minute and a half later.

The fourth and final lead change of the second half came after a jumper by Word made it 49-48 Falcons with 8:15 remaining, and then a 3-pointer by Armstrong assisted by Word on the next UTPB possession made it a four-point game.

A layup by Dario Domingos with 6:12 left made it a seven-point game (55-48), but the Rams put together an 8-2 run to pull to within one of the Falcons (57-56) with 2:32 to go.

On the next UTPB possession, a nifty layup by Matthews made it 59-56 just before the two-minute mark, and then a tough layin by Matthews in the final 45 seconds made it a two-possession lead (61-57).

On the ensuing ASU possession, Word came up with the loose ball after a turnover by the Rams, got fouled, and sank both free throws to make it 63-57 with 30 seconds remaining.

After a pair of free throws by Matthew with 20 seconds left, a 3-pointer by the Rams' Shemar Smith cut the margin in half (65-62), and then a turnover by the Falcons on the inbounds pass gave ASU one last chance to tie it.

Fortunately, the 3-pointer by Evans was off the mark, and Word cleared it with a rebound to run out the clock.

It was a great result for UTPB after falling at home on a buzzer beater against ASU last season when the Rams defeated the Falcons 68-67 in the Falcon Dome on the final day of the regular season to eliminate the Falcons from LSC Tournament contention.

"Today was a good win," spoke UTPB Head Coach Kyle Tolin. "We are at the point where we needed to win a game like that. It wasn't pretty, but we showed some toughness down the stretch of the game. I though we guarded very well. Our assistant coach Justin Graham did a great job on the scout. DJ Armstrong played well and made some huge shots for us. Our team got better this week and hopefully we can continue on that path."

In addition to being the first win for UTPB over ASU in five tries since ASU Head Coach Vinay Patel took over the Rams' program, it was also a big win for UTPB against the team that was picked to finish fourth in the LSC Preseason Poll this season.

UTPB will be back in action right before the Thanksgiving Holiday as the Falcons head to Durant, Oklahoma, to take on Southeastern Oklahoma State University in nonconference action at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 26.