CANYON, Texas (February 6, 2025) – The University of Texas Permian Basin men's basketball team was held to a season-low 54 points in a 68-54 defeat at West Texas A&M University on Thursday night. UTPB's previous season low was 62 points against the currently No. 1-ranked team in the country, Washburn University.

WT started the game with back-to-back 3-pointers and scored on each of its first four possessions to lead 10-0. It was then 12-0 as UTPB was forced into four turnovers with just three shot attempts in the first four minutes of the game before a 3-pointer by Sharrod Taylor.

WT continued its hot start and led 19-3 after a fastbreak 3-pointer from the wing off another Falcon turnover, forcing the second UTPB timeout in the first six minutes of the game.

It was then 24-3 after the fourth Buffaloes' 3-pointer in the first seven minutes, making WT 10-for-12 from the field and 4-for-4 from three to start the contest.

WT led 29-13 after a long pass and a dunk to beat the Falcons' press just over 12 minutes into the game. UTPB was just 6-for-18 shooting with eight turnovers before a 3-pointer by Maison Adeleye with seven and a half minutes left in the first half.

After trailing by as many as 21 points, UTPB had a chance late in the first half to cut it to a single-digit game, but a 3-pointer off the glass by the Buffs with 2:35 left prevented that.

At the break, a UTPB team that averages 77 points per game was held to just 23 points, but was within 12 (35-23) after a 3-pointer by DJ Armstrong as the final seconds ticked down. Armstrong then opened the second half with a turnaround jumper to get UTPB to within 10 points (35-25), but WT answered with a sidestep floater on its first possession of the period.

After it was UTPB that came up with seven offensive rebounds and held an 8-2 advantage on second chance points in the first half, it was a pair of second-chance layups for the Buffs that made it a 15-point game again (41-26) a little over three minutes into the second half.

In addition, at the first media timeout of the second half (13:42), UTPB was just 3-for-11 (27.3 percent) from the field while WT was at 50 percent (6-12) after also shooting 50 percent both from the field (13-26) and from three (5-10) in the first half.

A pair of 3-pointers by Taylor pulled the Falcons to within 12 (54-42) with nine minutes remaining, and later another three by Taylor was followed by a three by Freddie Word with 5:21 left to play and getting UTPB to within 10 points (58-48) for the second time in the half.

WT, however, would make 4-of-4 free throws over the next 32 seconds and made 8-of-8 to end the game. The Buffs were 15-for-22 from the free throw line for the game while the Falcons were just 7-for-10, their second-lowest makes and attempts in a game this season.

As impressive as the offense for WT looked at times, it was really the defense that stood out at the end as the Buffs held the Falcons to their lowest field goal percentage of the season (36.4 percent). UTPB also turned it over 17 times and trailed 21-12 in points off turnovers.

Taylor was 4-for-5 from three and led UTPB with 12 points. He added five rebounds, four assists and three steals and was the lone Falcon in double-figure scoring. Armstrong had nine points and eight rebounds and Word had seven points, seven boards and three assists. During UTPB's 78-71 win at home over WT earlier this season, the Falcons had four players in double-figure scoring in that one.

Freshman point guard Tristan Lewis scored the first points of his career with a layup with 12:09 left to play and finished with four points.

Unable to get its first-ever win at WT, UTPB falls to 15-7 overall and 11-5 in the Lone Star Conference while the Buffaloes improve to 14-8 and 9-7. The Falcons also fall to second place in the West Division at 7-3.

"We were bad tonight," spoke UTPB Head Coach Kyle Tolin. "This one is over and we need to move on. Our sense of urgency needs to be at a high level now."

UTPB keeps to the road on Saturday, February 8, taking on Eastern New Mexico University. The game is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. Central Time / 3 p.m. Mountain Time.