SAN ANGELO, Texas (January 13, 2026) – Neither team led by more than six points in the second half, but in the end, it was Angelo State University that came out on top 80-77 over The University of Texas Permian Basin on Tuesday night in San Angelo, Texas. The Rams, who held the lead for most of the contest, fell behind by four points with 1:53 left in the game, but would not be denied.

UTPB put five players in double figures, led by TJ McKenzie with 18 points and followed by Sharrod Taylor with 15 points and six assists. Bryceson Burns, Connor Morris and Tash Lunday all scored 12 points while Lunday also grabbed 10 rebounds to record his sixth double-double of the season.

It was 9-9 six minutes into the contest after a banked in 2-point jumper by Kyle McElroy, and was 11-11 just over nine minutes in after a slam dunk by Burns on the nice bounce pass by Lunday.

UTPB was then held scoreless for the next four minutes while ASU went on an 8-0 run to take a 19-11 lead.

The Falcons fell behind by 11 points (29-18) as ASU made six of its last seven field goals with just under five minutes remaining in the first half, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Taylor and Mckenzie cut it to five points (29-24).

Then under the three-and-a-half-minute mark, Taylor found Rashad Kee flashing open for a layup to make it an 8-0 Falcons' run and just a three-point game (29-26).

After trailing by nine points (37-28), back-to-back 3-pointers by Taylor in the final 65 seconds helped the Falcons trim it to a three-point game again (37-34) at halftime.

Both teams shot at least 40 percent from the field overall while making four 3-pointers in the first half, shooting exactly 75 percent from the free throw line, and committing no more than four turnovers. Taylor accounted for three of UTPB's four 3-pointers at the half and led all scorers with 11 points.

After UTPB made five of its final six shots of the first half, it made five of its first 10 shots to start the second half, but ASU started the final period a perfect 6-for-6.

After closing the first half with a pair of 3-pointers, Taylor hit another three on UTPB's first possession of the second half, and then the second 3-pointer of the game by Morris made it just a one-point Falcons' deficit (43-42) less than two minutes into the second half.

ASU answered with a 3-pointer on its next possession, keeping UTPB away from a chance to tie it or take a lead, and then after falling behind by six points (50-44), an and-one by McKenzie four minutes into the half made it a 50-47 deficit.

This time, however, UTPB was able to take the lead as a 3-pointer by McKenzie put the Falcons ahead by a score of 51-50 just over five minutes into the half.

Tied at 52-52 with 14 minutes remaining, another 3-pointer by ASU put the Rams back in front before a tough and-one by ASU made it a six-point lead again (58-52).

UTPB made five straight shots to keep its deficit from growing any further and ultimately cut it back down to a two-point game (64-62) after a fallaway jumper in the paint by McKenzie just under the 10-minute mark.

McKenzie kept it going with his second 3-pointer of the second half to make it just a one-point deficit (66-65) with seven and a half minutes remaining.

UTPB stayed with it, keeping the margin at no more than six points. Then in the final four minutes, a layup by Burns was followed on the next Falcons' possession by an offensive rebound and putback layup by Lunday to tie the game at 73 points apiece.

With a chance to take the lead for just the second time on the night, Lunday again came up with an offensive rebound and got his putback to go to make it 75-73 with just under two and half minutes to play.

Burns followed with a layup to make it an 8-0 Falcons' run over two minutes, but after a clutch 3-pointer by ASU's Kailon Nicholls to stop the scoring run and cut the lead to a single point, the Rams' Jhordan Ryan blocked Burns' layup attempt in the final minute and then Zyon Little scored a layup on the other end to allow the Rams to retake the lead at 78-77.

Trailing by one point in the waning moments, the Rams' defense stepped up as Taylor was stripped in the lane as UTPB turned it over. It was only UTPB's seventh turnover of the game.

The Rams were sent to the free throw line with 11.2 seconds on the clock and Davon Scott sank the free throws to give ASU a three-point lead. UTPB did not take its final timeout until with 3.6 seconds remaining, and inbounding from the sideline, the Falcons got it to Morris in the corner, but his off-balance three at the buzzer was off the mark as Angelo State escaped with the victory to end its three-game losing streak.

Both teams shot over 50 percent from the field in what was really a back-and-forth second half in terms of momentum. In all, the game featured six ties and five lead changes.

UTPB made four 3-pointers in both halves, making at least eight threes for the fourth game in a row, and made one more 3-pointer in the game than ASU, but it would not be enough as the Rams' three 3-pointers in the second half all seemed to come at the most crucial moments.

Both teams finished the game with no more than 10 turnovers, but ASU led 40-30 on the boards overall and 16-11 on the offensive glass. The Rams also finished with seven blocked shots and led 13-8 on points off turnovers, 13-10 on second chance points and 46-32 on points in the paint while the Falcons led 17-6 on fastbreak points. The Rams were led by a pair of double-doubles from Little (19 points, 10 rebounds) and Ryan (13 points, 11 rebounds).

UTPB fell to 6-11 overall and 2-7 in the Lone Star Conference while ASU, which lost twice in Oklahoma last weekend, improved to 12-7 and 3-5. The Rams were originally picked sixth in this year's LSC Preseason Poll.

Next up, UTPB will return home to host The University of Texas at Dallas at 3 p.m. on Saturday, January 17.