ODESSA, Texas (January 29, 2026) – After starting league play winless in six games, the UT Permian Basin men's basketball team won four of its next five games, with the lone loss coming in a three-point loss (80-77) at Angelo State on January 13th. This time around, the Rams scored 50 points in the first half and led by 12 points at the break, saw their halftime lead trimmed to just one point three times in the second half, but still pulled away to win 91-80 over the Falcons.

Bryceson Burns scored 21 points and added six rebounds and four steals for UTPB. Tash Lunday notched a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds, reigning Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Week Sharrod Taylor approached double-double territory himself with 17 points and eight assists, TJ McKenzie added 10 points and three steals, and Kyle McElroy contributed with seven points and five boards.

Burns was hitting his threes early as three times in the first six minutes of the game he sank a 3-pointer coming off an assist by Taylor, the last of which came off an out-of-bounds play to give UTPB a 17-15 lead.

ASU, meanwhile, was raining in the 3-pointers, making seven shots from long range in the first half. In addition to the 3-pointers, the Rams had three dunks in the first half and led 20-12 in points in the paint.

ASU also shot an epic 66.67 percent (20-30) from the field and was 7-for-13 (53.85 percent) from three in the opening 20 minutes. The Rams finished the game shooting 58.3 percent from the field and made a season-high 15 three-pointers.

After trailing by 14 points four times in the final four minutes of the first half, UTPB made its move in the second half, cutting its deficit to one point three times. The first time was 62-61 after a layup by Lunday with under 12 minutes, the second time was 64-63 after a tip-in by Rashad Kee on the next Falcons' possession, and the final time was 66-65 after two free throws by Lunday with 10 and a half minutes remaining.

Under the 10-minute mark, UTPB had a chance to tie it or even take the lead as McKenzie went to the free throw line for two shots, but after a miss on both attempts, the Rams pulled away for good when Quadir Pettaway nailed a 3-pointer on three straight possessions, making it 75-67 with eight minutes to go. Pettaway scored 22 points on 7-for-12 shooting from the field, all of which came from behind the arc.

UTPB Head Coach Kyle Tolin said, "I was disappointed with the way we competed tonight. We were not ready to play and did not play any good at all."

UTPB falls to 8-12 overall and 4-8 in the LSC and suffers a season-sweep vs. ASU, which snapped its three-game losing streak, improved to 13-10 overall, 4-8 in the LSC and 2-6 on the road.

The Falcons are back in Odessa, Texas, next week for a pair of home games against Sul Ross State University (Thursday, Feb. 5) and Western New Mexico University (Saturday, Feb. 7). It will be the lone matchup between UTPB and both of those teams this season.