ODESSA, Texas (February 22, 2025) – One game after pouring in 31 points, Alex Matthews was 17-for-18 from the free throw line and scored a game-high 27 points, but it was not enough to push The University of Texas Permian Basin men's basketball team past No. 5 nationally-ranked Dallas Baptist University on Saturday during the Falcons' Senior Day. In the end, the Patriots prevailed by a final score of 87-81.

In addition to Matthews, it was Senior Day for DJ Armstrong (11 points), Maison Adeleye (13 points) and Dario Domingos (17 points).

Among the non-seniors, Bryceson Burns added eight points while Sharrod Taylor dished out four assists and Chuks Ejiofor provided three blocks.

It took the Falcons three and a half minutes to get onto the scoreboard in the this one while DBU looked to exploit its bench depth and keep its players fresh with a multitude of substitutions early and throughout the contest. That combined with a relentless full-court press for most of the day was used to help wear down the Falcons.

Despite committing seven turnovers in the first nine minutes of the game and trailing 20-0 in bench points at the final media timeout (3:23) of the opening period, UTPB forced four ties and nine lead changes in the first half.

In the final two minutes of the opening half, the press by the Patriots forced a long fullcourt pass on an inbounds by Matthews that was picked off and resulted in two free throws by Drew Calderon, and then a traveling call on the Falcons led to two more free throws by Ricky Lujan to break a 33-33 tie in favor of a 37-33 lead for DBU.

Another turnover led to a fastbreak layup by Lujan to make it 42-35 Patriots, and Lujan would add another layup in the final minute to make it 44-37 at the break and allow DBU to finish the first half on a 13-4 run.

UTPB would shoot 50 percent (11-22) from the field and 13-for-18 (72.2 percent) from the free throw line in the first half while for DBU, 10 players entered the scoring column and 11 played for at least six minutes.

With 14 turnovers at the break, UTPB trailed 15-2 in points off turnovers and 26-2 in bench points.

Domingos scored two layups for the first four points off the second half, cutting the Falcons' deficit to 44-41, but after the Patriots missed two free throws on a flagrant foul by Domingos, a four-point play by Trevor Frank converting an and-one on a three-pointer widened the lead to 50-41 just three minutes and 10 seconds into the half.

A midrange jumper and two free throws by Matthews made it a three-point game again (54-51) with 14 minutes remaining, but UTPB was again bit by the turnover bug with eight giveaways in the first 11 minutes of the second half.

In the final 6:35, Matthews went to work, scoring four free throws and draining a beautiful turnaround jumper in the paint to make it 73-69 with five minutes remaining.

Matthews then hit a short hook shot to make it a three-point margin yet again (74-71) with under four and a half minutes to go, and after DBU got its lead back to eight points, another nice paint jumper by Matthews made it 81-75 with two minutes to go.

Matthews made it 83-77 with a minute and a half left with a sweet hook shot off the glass, and then he sank two more free throws to make it a four-point game (83-79) going into the final minute.

Unfortunately, after two free throws by DBU, Matthews missed a long turnaround two-point shot with 30 seconds left, and then a 1-for-2 trip to the line by the Patriots made it a three-possession game (86-79) with 20 seconds left, effectively putting the game out of reach.

Matthews would score 20 of his 27 points in the second half while UTPB shot a very efficient 14-for-23 (60.87 percent) in the second half and finished at 55.6 percent for the game, its third-highest shooting percentage of the season. DBU normally showcases one of the country's most prolific defenses, limiting teams to 72.4 PPG and ranking first in the nation in turnovers forced per game (22.3) coming into the game.

UTPB added seven blocks as a team and shot 28-for-36 (77.8 percent) from the charity stripe while DBU shot just 22-for-34 (64.7 percent) from the line.

UTPB also won the battle on the boards 35-27, but saw its 22 turnovers, its most turnovers in a game since November 18, 2022, vs. Adams State University (23 turnovers), lead to a 24-4 advantage in points off turnovers for the visitors. DBU only committed seven turnovers and also led 50-38 on points in the paint, 15-8 on second chance points and 46-5 in bench points.

UTPB falls to 16-11 overall and 12-9 in the Lone Star Conference while DBU, the first-place team in the LSC, improves to 26-4 and 18-3, tying its record for most wins in a season in program history.

With one game left, UTPB is tied with West Texas A&M University (17-10 overall, 12-9 LSC) and Angelo State University (16-11, 12-9) for seventh place in the LSC standings.

After beginning the day one game ahead of Angelo State in the conference standings, the Falcons are now tied with the Rams and will have a pivotal matchup next week (Thursday, Feb. 27) in San Angelo.

Last season, it was the Rams who scored with 10 seconds left in the game and kept the Falcons out of the postseason with a 68-67 win in Odessa, Texas, during the final game of the regular season. This season, Angelo State is coming off of a 68-61 win over DBU and a 76-62 win over The University of Texas at Tyler at home this past week.
 
Senior Day Recap (Stats Entering Saturday):
Maison Adeleye has started in all 45 of 54 games in his two seasons at UTPB, including starting in all 26 games this season, and has recorded 628 points, 237 rebounds, 110 assists and 71 steals as a Falcon. He is averaging 11.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game this season, and in his two seasons as a Falcon, he has averaged 11.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. In his senior year, Adeleye leads the team with 36 steals and is second with 71 assists and 26-made 3-pointers. His career-high in scoring UTPB came earlier this season against Central Missouri (12/17/24) in the River City Holiday Classic when he scored 29 points. Twice this season Adeleye has scored at least 24 points in back-to-back games, and he has eight 20-point games in his career at UTPB. Adeleye has been named both the Lone Star Conference Defensive Player of the Week and Offensive Player of the Week this season.

DJ Armstrong has started in 49 of 54 games in his two seasons at UTPB, including in all 26 games this season, and has recorded 645 points, 156 rebounds, 96 assists, 58 steals, 16 blocks and 149 3-pointers, and has averaged 11.9 points per game. Earlier this season he scored at least 23 points in three straight games, including a career-high of 25 points at St. Edward's in which he made seven 3-pointers (1/23/25), and was named UTPB's Edgardo Madrid & Associates Men's Student-Athlete of the Month for January. In all, he has seven 20-point games in his career at UTPB. He is first on the team this year with 69 made 3-pointers and a 91.4 free throw percentage, and is third in points (323). He leads the Lone Star Conference this year in minutes played (977), and is third in 3-pointers made per game (2.7) and is fifth in 3-point field goal percentage (.358). Armstrong is currently fourth in the UTPB record books in 3-pointers made with 149 across his two seasons.

Dario Domingos has totaled 337 points, 147 rebounds, 35 steals and 16 blocks, and is averaging 13.0 points and 5.7 rebounds per game while shooting 57.9 percent from the field in his one season at UTPB. His season-high in points in his one year at UTPB was a 30-point scoring performance at Western New Mexico (1/5/25). In an 85-84 road win for the Falcons at Southeastern Oklahoma State (11/26/24), Domingos hit the game winning free throws with 11.4 seconds left and finished with a season-high 16 rebounds and scored 21 points on 11-for-13 shooting from the free throw line. Then earlier this Spring, he hit the game-winning 3-pointer in an 87-86 victory at St. Edward's (1/23/25). He has scored at least 20 points four this time season, and on the team, he ranks second in points (337), field goals made (128) and free throws made (80). Domingos was named the Lone Star Conference Defensive Player of the Week for the week ending on Sunday, December 15, 2024, after recording 15 rebounds, five steals and two blocks to lead UTPB to a pair of road victories over Oklahoma Christian and Cameron.

Alex Matthews has started in all 54 games in his two seasons at UTPB and has totaled 809 points, 308 rebounds, 102 assists, 51 steals and 19 blocks, and averages 15.0 points and 5.7 rebounds per game as a Falcon. Just one game before his Senior Day, Matthews scored a season-high 31 points at UTPB earned an 80-58 home victory over The University of Texas at Tyler last Thursday night (1/20/25). It was the most points in a game for Matthews since scoring 32 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in a 90-70 win at home over Western New Mexico University last season (1/6/24). In addition, it was the second time in his two seasons at UTPB he has made nine or more free throws without a miss after shooting 10-for-10 from the line in the contest before the WNMU game, a 79-76 win over Eastern New Mexico University (1/4/24). Matthews has scored at least 20 points six times this season and 10 times in his two years at UTPB, has twice recorded 13 rebounds in game this season, had four double-doubles during a six-game span earlier this season, and has recorded seven double-doubles overall in two seasons. He leads the Falcons in scoring this year with 431 points and is also first with 170 boards, 149 made field goals and 115 made free throws. He boasts season-averages of 16.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He was named UTPB's Edgardo Madrid & Associates Men's Student-Athlete of the Month for December after averaging 15.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.8 steals and shooting 53.6 percent from the field across six games in December. He recorded a team-high in rebounds in five of the team's six games during the month. He was also named the Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Week for the week ending on Sunday, February 2, 2025, after averaging 23.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists to fuel a 2-0 week against Western New Mexico and Sul Ross State. In the Lone Star Conference this season, he is second in minutes played (921) and free throws made (115), and is third in total points (431) and fifth in total rebounds (170). In the UTPB record books, Matthews is fourth all-time in free throws made with 217.