MIDLAND, Texas (September 21, 2024) – The first loss in the Lone Star Conference in two seasons for The University of Texas Permian Basin football team was a tough 20-14 defeat at the hands of Texas A&M University-Kingsville on Saturday night at Astound Broadband Stadium.

UTPB (2-2 overall, 1-1 LSC) came into the game knowing that it would be a battle in the trenches that would have a big impact on deciding the outcome, but that advantage was all Kingsville (2-1, 1-0), which relied on four seniors on its offensive line to put up 125 rushing yards against the Falcons.

UTPB had just two first downs, ran the ball seven times for nine yards, and had 29 total yards of offense on 13 plays in the opening quarter. Then in the second quarter, the Falcons had three runs for four yards.

After accumulating just 13 rushing yards in the first half, the Falcons finished the game with just 46 rushing yards and a 1.9 average per attempt.

Total offense, however, ended up pretty close, 321-290 in favor of the Javelinas as UTPB won the passing battle 244-196. UTPB outgained Kingsville by 0.1 yards per play (4.8-4.7) and both teams finished with 19 first downs for the game.

Time of possession was nearly an 11-minute advantage for Kingsville, which was 2-for-2 in the redzone while UTPB came up empty in its lone trip to the redzone and finished the game 0-for-2 on field goals.

UTPB spotted Kingsville a 17-0 lead on the first three possessions of the game for the Javelinas before getting back into the game with a score in the final two minutes of the first half and another in the first four minutes of the second half.

The Falcons went three-and-out on their first two drives of the game while the Javelinas scored on a 49-yard field goal on their first drive, followed by a 28-yard touchdown pass on third-and-nine on their second drive.

After a short 17-yard punt by TAMUK set the Falcons up at the Javelina 42-yard line with 2:31 left in the first half, UTPB got on the scoreboard with a perfectly executed pass play to the running back, Kory Harris, who was wide open on the far side of the field for a 23-yard touchdown catch from Dylan Graham.

That capped what was just a 44-second scoring drive for UTPB, and then the Falcons' first drive of the third quarter was even more impressive as just three plays in, Graham found Ben Patterson down the middle of the field for a 71-yard touchdown pass to make it just a three-point game (17-14).

Then after a missed 39-yard field goal by the Javelinas in the middle of the third quarter, UTPB went 55 yards down the field in 12 plays in an attempt to tie the game or take the lead, but instead a missed field goal themselves from 39 yards out kept the score right where it was in the final minute of the period.

TAMUK would open the fourth quarter with a 34-yard field goal to end an eight-play, 62-yard drive and make it where the Falcons would need a touchdown to tie the game instead of a field goal.

UTPB's first drive of the fourth quarter went 11 plays for 41 yards, but an incomplete pass on fourth-and-11 from the TAMUK 34-yard line ended that possession.

The next UTPB drive started with 6:13 left to play, and three pass interferences calls and a roughing the passer call helped get the Falcons all the way down to the TAMUK five-yard line. However, after an incomplete pass and a rush for minus two yards to bring up third down, an interception by Khalen Leonard in the endzone thwarted UTPB's chance to steal the win.

Instead, Kingsville picked up two first downs, one on a six-yard completion on third-and-three and another on a nine-yard run on third-and-six, ending the game.

Graham finished 17-of-37 passing for 224 yards, two touchdowns and the previously mentioned interception.

Putting up some gaudy numbers on defense was Tristan Exline, who finished with 15 total tackles and 11 solo tackles, and had 4.0 tackles for loss. Jalon Rocquemore and Darius Keck both added eight tackles while Kamron Lee had seven.

Head Coach Kris McCullough said, "I am sorry. I let the Falcons 'FAMILLY' down. I got out-coached, out-prepared, and flat out beat. Kudos to Kingsville, they were prepared better and beat us for 60 minutes. We have to get better. Thank you to all of the fans that showed up. That was a fantastic crowd that stayed in it until the very end."

UT Permian Basin hits the road on Saturday, September 28, taking on Midwestern State University.  The game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. from Wichita Falls, Texas.