PUEBLO, Colo. (November 28, 2025) – The University of Texas Permian Basin men's basketball team traveled to Pueblo, Colorado, for a Thanksgiving Classic against South Central Regional opponents. In their first game of the weekend, the Falcons fell 78-69 against the host ThunderWolves from Colorado State University Pueblo.

Four Falcons scored in double figures, led by Rashad Kee and Kainan Thomas with 15 points, Bryceson Burns with 14 points, and Tash Lunday with 12 points. No other Falcons scored more than six points.

Kee shot similarly from the field (5-of-9) as he did from the free throw line (5-of-8), and tied for the game-high with nine rebounds. Burns was 8-for-9 from the free throw line and Thomas was 4-for-9 from three while also tying for the game-high with four assists.

Despite making six 3-pointers, UTPB made just two 2-pointers in the first half and shot just 33.33 percent (8-24) from the field. The Falcons were also just 6-for-14 (42.86 percent) from the free throw line in the opening period, and allowed CSUP to shoot over 58 percent (14-of-24; 58.33 percent) during the opening 20 minutes.

Despite limiting themselves to only 12 turnovers, the Falcons were outscored 18-8 in points off turnovers and 23-12 in fastbreak points.

The Falcons did, however, outrebound the ThunderWolves 13-9 on the offensive glass, leading to a 16-11 advantage on second chance points, and were only two rebounds shy (36-34) in total rebounds.

The Falcons made the same number of field goals as they did free throws (20), finished with their lowest free throw percentage (20-of-31; 64.5 percent) and second-lowest field goal percentage of the season (20-of-54; 37.0 percent), and allowed a season-high 36 rebounds to their opponent. UTPB entered the weekend with a plus-7.8 rebound margin, which was third-best in the Lone Star Conference, and was averaging 17.5 made free throws per game. CSUP, meanwhile, entering the weekend ranking first in the RMAC and third nationally in Division II in field goal percentage defense (31.8 percent) and led the RMAC while ranking seventh nationally in rebounds per game (46.50).

A dunk by CSUP's Jordan Blair made it a 7-6 Thunderwolves' lead 2:35 into the game, and marked the fourth and final lead change. UTPB would trail by 17 points (42-25) entering the final minute of the first half, and trailed by 18 points (64-46) over 11 and a half minutes into the second half. UTPB mounted a late rally to pull within seven points on several occasions in the final minute.

UTPB Head Men's Basketball Coach Kyle Tolin said "I thought we had some positive things in this game. We competed better in the second half. Hopefully we can continue to play with the effort we did at times defensively and clean up some of the mistakes we had and continue to get better."

UTPB falls to 2-3 on the season while CSUP improves to 5-0. The Thunderwolves, who are led by first-year head coach Zach Ruebesam, were picked 12th in the Preseason Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Coaches' Poll, but are the lone remaining undefeated team in the RMAC and began the day as one of 37 NCAA Division II teams without a loss. It is the first 5-0 start for the Pack since 2006-07.

It was the second-ever meeting between UTPB and CSUP and the first since November 15, 2015, a 96-90 win for the ThunderWolves in Kingsville, Texas, at the Emerald Beach Hotel Javalina Tip-Off Challenge.

In their second game of the Thanksgiving Classic, the Falcons will battle another RMAC school, MSU Denver, starting at 2:30 p.m. Mountain Time / 3:30 p.m. Central Time on Saturday, November 29.