ODESSA, Texas (November 15, 2025) – In what was the first meeting between the two squads since 2019, the UT Permian Basin men's basketball team defeated Western Colorado University 83-71 on Saturday afternoon inside the Falcon Dome. It was also the first win of the 2025-26 season for UTPB (1-1 overall).

Tash Lunday led UTPB with 24 points and 11 rebounds, good for his first double-double two games into his career as a Falcon. Lunday was 8-for-15 from the field, 1-for-1 from three, and 7-for-9 from the free throw line. He was a combined 16-for-21 from the free throw line across two games during opening weekend.

Bryceson Burns scored 19 points and missed only one shot, going 7-for-8 from the field and 4-for-5 from three. He also added two blocks, and now has all five of UTPB's blocks through two games.

Sharrod Taylor matched Lunday at 7-for-9 from the free throw line and scored 16 points. He also led all players with five assists.

Both teams shot over 50 percent from the field in the first half, with UTPB shooting 58.06 percent (18-31) and matching its number of made field goals from its first game of the season the night before.

The two teams shot nearly identical percentages from the field and from the free throw line (17 attempts each) in the second half, but UTPB was able to make four 3-pointers in both halves and finished at 50 percent shooting from the floor for the game. The Falcons also shot 44.4 percent from behind the arc.

UTPB limited itself to only 10 turnovers and took advantage of 10 steals on 19 turnovers by WCU to lead 22-7 on points off turnovers.

The Falcons trailed by 10 points (27-17) nine minutes in before back-to-back 3-pointers by Burns and Kainan Thomas were followed by an and-one by Kyle McElroy to cut it to one (27-26) just two and a half minutes later.

After a 3-pointer by Burns to tie it at 29-29 with 7:47 left in the first half, UTPB took its first lead of the game with a fastbreak layup by Thomas on the Falcons' next possession.

UTPB led by one point (67-66) entering the final five minutes of the game when a 3-pointer by Burns gave the Falcons some breathing room.

The Falcons would outscore the Mountaineers 16-5 in the final minutes, and saw the visitors commit four turnovers in the final five minutes and miss each of their final six shots from the field.

For WCU, Aidan McDowell finished with a game-high 29 points on 8-for-17 shooting from three and 11-for-11 shooting from the free throw line, but was just 2-for-7 from three. McDowell previously scored 34 points and added 17 rebounds in WCU's 94-92 overtime loss at Colorado College during the exhibition season and then scored 37 points on 14-of-19 shooting, including 7-of-10 from three-point range, in the Mountaineers' season-opening loss (91-72) at Angelo State University.

"It was a good bounce-back win," said UTPB Head Men's Basketball Coach Kyle Tolin. "We played harder and better. I thought we had several guys step up and make plays on both ends of the floor. They have a really good guard, and Bryceson [Bryceson Burns] and Rashad [Rashad Kee] made him work to get shots."

Next up, UTPB wraps up its three-game homestand to open the season by welcoming McMurry University into the Flacon Dome for a 7 p.m. tipoff on Tuesday, November 18.