ODESSA, Texas (February 5, 2026) – The University of Texas Permian Basin men's basketball team continued its improved play and won for the fifth time in the last seven games as the Falcons outscored Sul Ross State University 43-24 in the first half and ultimately earned an 81-63 victory over the Lobos on Thursday night inside the Falcon Dome.

UTPB saw five players score in double figures, led by Sharrod Taylor with 18 points on four 3-pointers.

Rashad Kee scored 17 points after shooting 5-for-6 form the field and 7-for-10 at the free throw line. He was followed by Tash Lunday with 14 points, Bryceson Burns with 13 and TJ McKenzie with 12.

All five Falcons' starters totaled at least six rebounds, Taylor and Burns both had four assists, and McKenzie notched four steals.

UTPB was able to limit its turnovers to seven and led 16-5 in points off turnovers, 23-10 on fastbreak points and 42-32 on points in the paint.

The Falcons also outrebounded the Lobos by 10 overall (45-35), doubled them up on the offensive glass (12-6), and led 15-8 on second chance points. It was the first time in six games UTPB has outrebounded its opponent (Jan. 8 at Oklahoma Christian University).

Early in the game it was McKenzie making his impact felt in every facet, recording a steal, a block and a defensive rebound in the first two minutes. McKenzie added an offensive rebound and a layup to make it a 6-2 lead, and then came up with another steal and recorded an assist on a fastbreak layup by Lunday to make it an 8-2 start for the home team .

McKenzie's assist on a layup by Kee made it a 10-2 start for the Falcons just over five minutes into the game, and then UTPB's fifth offensive rebound (7 second chance points) within the first seven minutes of the game saw a tip-in by Conner Morris make it a 14-7 lead.

The strong start continued as a fastbreak alley-oop from Taylor to Burns made it 16-7 and a fastbreak layup by Lunday made it 18-7 (led 8-0 in fastbreak points).

UTPB's led grew to 19 points (26-7) after a fastbreak three by Burns with seven and a half minutes left in the first half, capping what was a big 16-0 scoring run for the Falcons.

UTPB took a pair of 21-pont leads under the five-minute mark in the opening period, first at 33-12 after a pair of fastbreak free throws by Taylor, and then at 35-14 after a steal and a fastbreak layup by McKenzie.

In all, UTPB scored 16 fastbreak points in the first half and led by 19 points (43-24) at the break after a tip-in by Kee, giving the Falcons 11 second chance points in the opening 20 minutes.

UTPB's lead in the second half was whittled down to 10 points (60-50) after three 3-pointers by the Lobos before the halfway mark in the final period, but four second-half 3-pointers by Taylor helped the Falcons keep a double-digit lead for the entirety of the half.

UTPB (9-12 overall, 5-8 Lone Star Conference) has moved up from a tie for 16th place in the conference standings two games ago to a tie for 10th place now. SRSU, meanwhile, falls to 4-14 and 2-11 and suffers its second loss in a row after alternating between a win and a loss in each of its last five games entering Thursday.

Head Men's Basketball Coach Kyle Tolin said, "I thought our team guarded and competed better tonight. Rashad Kee really gave us a big lift tonight."

Thanks to Kee and his 17 points off the bench, the Falcons outscored the Lobos 21-6 on bench points.

Next up, the Falcons will finish off their three-game homestand against Western New Mexico University at 3 p.m. on Saturday, February 7. It will be the first of two straight matchups against teams receiving votes in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) poll for the Falcons.