ODESSA, Texas (January 4, 2026) – The University of Texas Permian Basin men's basketball team kept it close in the first half with 50 percent shooting (7-14) from three, but could not get it going in the second half as The University of Texas at Tyler defeated the Falcons 83-58 on Sunday inside the Falcon Dome.

Both teams started the game with a 3-pointer on their first possession, and then the second early three of the game by UTPB's Connor Morris made it a 6-5 Falcons' lead two minutes in.

Just over five and a half minutes in, a 3-pointer by Bryceson Burns made it 11-7 UTPB until an 11-0 run for UT Tyler starting with five straight layups.

Down 18-11 after the scoring run, UTPB got a 3-pointer from TJ McKenzie; and then down 20-14; a 3-pointer by Sharrod Taylor cut UTPB's deficit in half (20-17) with 12 minutes left in the first half.

The theme of three's continued for UTPB throughout the first half as Burns sank three straight free throws to make it a 22-20 deficit with 10 and a half minutes left in the opening period.

After UTPB fell behind by as many as 14 points (38-24) in the final three and a half minutes of the first half, a four-point play by Taylor with 2:30 left was followed by the third 3-pointer of the first half again by Taylor, giving him a personal 7-0 run to get the Falcons' back to within five (38-33) with two minutes to go before the break.

An and-one by Marcus Burnett made it a four-point game (40-36) entering the final minute of the first half, and then with under one second remaining, Taylor was fouled on a 3-pointer for the second time in the game. He made his last two attempts at the line to make the score 44-38 at halftime.

It was a 14-6 run in the final 3:14 of the first half for UTPB, a run that started with a dunk by Kyle McElroy on the nice assist from Tash Lunday. However, in the second half, UTPB quickly fell back behind by 10 points (48-38) after a dunk and a floater by UT Tyler to start the final period.

In the first four minutes of the second half, UT Tyler outscored UTPB 10-1 to take a 15-point lead (54-39), and then that run grew to 16-3, making the score 60-41 until UTPB's first field goal of the second half came six minutes and 30 seconds into the period on a layup by Burns.

UT Tyler started the game shooting 7-for-11 (63.6 percent) and 11-for-19 (57.9 percent) from the field, and made 17 total field goals (17-30; 56.67 percent) in the first half. The story of the first half was UT's Tyler shooting efficiency vs. UTPB's 3-point shooting. Only one of those themes would hold in the second half as UT Tyler was able to keep its offense going while also controlling the game on the defensive end. The Patriots added 16 more field goals (just one less than the first half) while limiting the Falcons to just five made field goals and a 1-for-10 mark from three in the final 20 minutes.

UTPB was held to 20 points in the second half and was held below 30 percent shooting for the game for the first time all season. In addition, after the Falcons started the game 5-for-7 from three, they would finish 3-for-17 the rest of the way.

UTPB was able to get to the free throw line a good number of times in the second half, but only shot 9-for-15 (60 percent) and finished at 16-for-23 (69.6 percent) for the game.

Taylor and Burns led UTPB with 13 and 12 points, respectively, while Morris added eight points and Lunday had six points and six rebounds.

It was a battle between two of the three teams in the Lone Star Conference without a win entering the day as UTPB fell to 4-10 overall and 0-6 in the LSC while UTPB Tyler improved to 7-4 and 1-4. UTPB was previously 7-0 vs. UT Tyler, including a 22-point win (80-58) at home last season.

UTPB Head Coach Kyle Tolin said, "I was embarrassed by how we played today. I apologize to UTPB. We will work hard to get this fixed."

Next week, the Falcons will hit the road for the first time in 2026, traveling to Oklahoma. UTPB plays at Oklahoma Christian University starting at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, January 8, followed by Cameron University at 3 p.m. on Saturday, January 10.