LAWTON, Okla. (January 10, 2026) – TJ McKenzie scored a season-high 33 points and Tash Lunday and Bryceson Burns both added 25 points as The University of Texas Permian Basin men's basketball team overcame a 15-point deficit in the second half to force overtime and ultimately prevailed in a 115-108 double-overtime victory at Cameron University.

Taking on an Aggies' team that had won its last two games and three of its last four Lone Star Conference games overall, which included wins over Angelo State University last time out and No. 4 Lubbock Christian University in December, UTPB was able to persevere and earns its second win in a row to improve to 6-10 overall and 2-6 in the LSC.

McKenzie scored his 33 points on 13-for-24 shooting from the field and 4-for-11 shooting from three. In addition, Lunday was 9-for-11 from the free throw line and Burns was 6-for-10 from three while Sharrod Taylor approached triple-double territory with 18 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.

UTPB outscored Cameron 18-11 in the second overtime and shot 5-for-7 (71.43 percent) from the field, 3-for-3 from three, and 5-for-6 from the free throw line in the period.

UTPB's 115 points were its most since scoring 128 vs. Navajo Tech on December 18, 2023, while its 16 made 3-pointers were its most since also making 16 threes at Western New Mexico on February 1, 2024.

UTPB led 13-5 early on after 3-pointers by both Connor Morris and Taylor.

With 8:36 left in the first half, Lunday sank two free throws to make it a 12-point lead (32-20).

With 6:11 left, McKenzie had a chance to finish off an and-one and give UTPB a 13-point lead, but instead he missed the free throw, and then Cameron rattled off seven straight points to cut its deficit to just five points (38-33) with under four minutes before halftime.

After starting its 7-0 run with a 3-pointer, another three by Cameron made it 40-36 with three minutes left before halftime, and then another three by a third different Aggie gave them their first lead (41-40) since the opening two and a half minutes of the game. In all, it was a 19-2 run for Cameron after the free throw miss by McKenzie, making it a 45-40 lead at the break.

Despite only committing two turnovers and getting nine more shot attempts in the first half, UTPB shot just 36.84 percent (14-38) while Cameron shot 53.33 percent (16-30) and had five 3-pointers from five different players. UTPB also led for 16:52 in the first half.

Cameron expanded its lead to nine points (53-44) less than three minutes into the second half, and then went ahead by 15 points (62-47) after scoring nine straight points ending just over five minutes into the period. In all, it was a 17-7 run to open the second half for the Aggies.

UTPB tried to stay in it as a 3-pointer by Burns cut it to 70-63 with 10 and a half minutes left to play.

Burns made it a seven-point game (79-72) again with a dunk with around seven minutes left, and then after a block by Taylor on the other end of the court, McKenzie followed up with a nice jumper to make it 79-74.

The run continued for UTPB as Burns hit a three to make it 81-77 with around five minutes to go, and then again McKenzie followed up with a basket, this time scoring on a layup to make it just a two-point game (81-79) to wrap up an 11-2 scoring run that started down 79-68 for the Falcons to get back into it.

Trailing 83-79 with just four minutes on the clock, Burns stayed aggressive and scored on a layup, and then on the next UTPB possession, Burns was fouled going for a fastbreak layup. He made both shots to tie it at 83-83 and make it a 15-4 run for the Falcons.

Cameron answered with a 3-pointer on its next possession, and two UTPB possessions later, McKenzie knotted it up with a 3-pointer to make it 86-86 with 3:12 to go.

Tied with under two minutes remaining and with possession, UTPB had its pocket picked on offense, leading to a transition dunk for the Aggies.

Lunday followed with a trip to the free throw line, but missed the front end of the one-and-one. Lunday was an 86-percent free throw shooter coming into the contest.

Still down two (88-86) with under 45 seconds left, the Falcons stayed composed on offense as McKenzie broke through the defense for a strong layup to tie the game again.

Cameron then missed a stepback three in the final 10 seconds to force overtime.

Both teams shot over 50 percent in the second half, paced by UTPB at an awesome 66.86 percent (19-28), including a 7-for-14 mark from three.

UTPB made nine of its final 10 shots in regulation, but then in overtime, Cameron started overtime with scores on each of its first three possessions.

McKenzie continued his career night by draining a 3-pointer to cut UTPB's deficit in half (94-91), and then Burns tied it on the next possession with a 3-pointer of his own with just under two and half minutes left in the first overtime.

However, Cameron again had the answer with a layup, giving the Aggies a basket on four of their first five possessions of the extra period.

Approaching one minute remaining in the first overtime, Lunday drove baseline but came up short on his game-tying layup attempt as the Aggies' defender just got a piece of the shot.

Cameron's Jordan Mitchell went to the free throw line with 46 seconds left, and after his first shot rimmed out, his second shot was good to make it a three-point game (97-94).

McKenzie drove for the layup to try and extend the game, but again the shot was altered by the Aggies' defender.

UTPB still had a chance after Michael Jones missed the front end of a one-and-one for Cameron. The Falcons called a timeout with 10 seconds to go, but needing a three to keep the game going, Cameron opted to foul and send McKenzie to the free throw line.

McKenzie, who was 0-for-4 from the free throw line at that point, sank his first shot, and then saw his second shot rattle in.

Down by one point (97-96), the Falcons had to send the Aggies back to the free throw line on the other end of the court.

This time it was Mitchell shooting for the Aggies with only eight seconds left, and he also missed the front end of the one-and-one, leaving the door open for UTPB.

McKenzie went straight down the court and was fouled going for the game-winning layup in the final seconds. After making both shots during his last trip, this time, McKenzie calmly sank the first shot, but could not make the second.

That forced double overtime, and this time UTPB scored first as after a stop on the Aggies' first possession, Burns drilled a stepback 3-pointer on the other end.

Burns then made it back-to-back threes on the next UTPB possession, making the score 103-97 Falcons.

After Cameron scored on each of its first three possessions in the first overtime, UTPB did so in the second overtime as Taylor added a free throw to make it 104-97.

The Aggies made it a one-possession game (104-101) in the final two and a half minutes of the second overtime, and then after the teams traded 3-pointers, Cameron tied to go to the full-court press to force the issue, and UTPB was able to break through the press with buckets by McKenzie and Lunday to make the score 111-104.

However, the Aggies' press began to work as a steal and a layup by Mitchell made it 111-108, and then UTPB turned it over again on the next possession, but a steal by Kyle McElroy got it back for the Falcons.

After a miss from three by Cameron trying to tie the game in the final 30 seconds, Lunday went to the free throw line with 20 seconds left and made both shots to make it 113-108, effectively sealing the deal.

Head Coach Kyle Tolin said after the game, "We showed a ton of toughness today. I'm really proud of our team and the week they had. I am super proud of Tristan Lewis and am so thankful for him and our team."

UT Permian Basin remains on the road early next week, playing at Angelo State University starting at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 13, before returning home to host The University of Texas at Dallas at 3 p.m. on Saturday, January 17.