PUEBLO, Colo. (November 29, 2025) – The Falcons got huge efforts from Sharrod Taylor with 31 points and Tash Lunday with 29 points and 17 rebounds and outscored MSU Denver by a margin of 19-9 in the second overtime period en route to a 103-93 win for The University of Texas Permian Basin men's basketball team in its final game of the CSU Pueblo Thanksgiving Classic.

It was the first-ever meeting between UTPB (3-3 overall) and MSU Denver (1-5).

After facing off against the team picked 12th in the in Preseason Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Coaches' Poll yesterday, the Falcons took on the team picked sixth in the RMAC this time around, but got a much better result.

Taylor and Lunday were two of the three Falcons with a double-double and five assists on the afternoon. Taylor was 9-for-21 from the field and 6-for-15 from three, and added 10 rebounds. Lunday shot 50 percent (7-14) from the field, 75 percent (3-4) from three, and was 12-of-13 from the free throw line. Lastly, Rashad Kee finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds as well.

UTPB shot 50 percent both from the field (5-10) and from three (4-8) in the second overtime, and was 5-for-6 (83.33 percent) from the line after struggling to close out the second half with an 11-for-18 clip (61.11 percent) from the charity stripe.

The matchup produced 12 ties and 10 lead changes, with neither team allowing the other to pull away until late in the second overtime.

Tied at 88-88 two minutes into the second overtime, Taylor hit a 3-pointer on back-to-back possessions, but each time MSU Denver answered with a bucket to keep it close.

With two minutes remaining is where the free throw shooting kicked in as Taylor and Lunday both went 2-for-2 at the line to make it a five-point Falcons' lead (98-93), and then a 3-pointer by Lunday assisted by Taylor made it an eight-point lead (101-93) with 48 seconds left.

In the final 15 seconds, a missed 3-pointer by Taylor was followed by a tip-in by Brady Watson to make it a 10-point game, and that was all she wrote.

Watson's tip-in was one of three offensive rebounds in the final overtime period for the Falcons, who finished with 17 offensive boards for the game and led 21-8 on second chance points. Overall, UTPB dominated the glass 52-36, earning its most rebounds in a game since November 25, 2022, in a 93-86 overtime win over Ecclesia in the Falcons' own Walk-On's Sports Bistreaux Thanksgiving Classic.

In addition, UTPB's 14 made 3-pointers on Saturday were its second-highest number so far this season after making 15 threes in a home win vs. McMurry 11 days prior (Nov. 18).

UTPB Head Coach Kyle Tolin spoke after the win and said, "I thought we showed some toughness in this game. We made lots of winning plays down the stretch. I thought everyone really stepped up. Everyone was plus this game. We rebounded the ball well, Tash had a monster game scoring and on the glass, and Sharrod made some big shots."

Next up will be UTPB's Lone Star Conference opener against No. 5 nationally-ranked Lubbock Christian University at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, December 3, in Lubbock, Texas.