ODESSA, Texas (March 4, 2026) – Graduate student Tash Lunday was named Third-Team All-Lone Star Conference while senior Sharrod Taylor was named Honorable Mention.

UTPB Head Men's Basketball Coach Kyle Tolin said, "Congrats to these two guys. Both played extremely well, especially on the offensive end for us."

Tash Lunday – Gr., Forward – Third-Team All-LSC
Lunday was a team captain and was one of two players to start in all 28 games this season for the Falcons. He led the team in points (17.0 ppg), total rebounds (8.3 rpg), defensive rebounds (5.0 drpg), offensive rebounds (3.3 orpg), made field goals (149), made free throws (157), free throw percentage (84.4) and 3-point field goal percentage (42.3). Earlier this year he was named to the 2025-26 LSC Preseason Players to Watch list and was named UTPB's Men's Student-Athlete of the Month for December. He recorded eight double-doubles on the season, including season-highs of 29 points and 17 rebounds (T4th most in the LSC this season) in a 103-93 double-overtime, neutral-site win vs. MSU Denver (Nov. 29). He scored over 20 points nine times and recorded five 20-point double-doubles. He also made at least 10 free throws in a game six times and had four games in which he pulled down at least 13 rebounds. He was fifth in the LSC in total points and third in total rebounds. He was also second in the conference in made free throws and was fifth in free throw percentage, ninth in field goal percentage and 10th in made field goals.

Lunday averaged 19 points and 9.5 rebounds per game during UTPB's first two games of the season. Lunday led the Falcons with 14 points on 9-for-12 shooting from the free throw line and tied for the game-high with eight rebounds as UTPB lost its season opener 81-69 against Adams State University (Nov. 14). Lunday then led UTPB with 24 points and 11 rebounds, good for his first double-double two games into his career as a Falcon, as UTPB picked up its first win of the season, 83-71, over Western Colorado University (Nov. 15). Lunday was 8-for-15 from the field, 1-for-1 from three, and 7-for-9 from the free throw line against the Mountaineers. He was a combined 16-for-21 from the free throw line across both games during opening weekend.

Lunday finished with 29 points and 17 rebounds to help the Falcons earn a 103-93 win over MSU Denver (Nov. 29) in its final game of the CSU Pueblo Thanksgiving Classic. Lunday was one of the three Falcons with a double-double and five assists against the Roadrunners. Lunday shot 50 percent (7-14) from the field, 75 percent (3-4) from three, and was 12-of-13 from the free throw line in the game, and in the final two minutes of overtime, hit two free throws and a 3-pointer to give UTPB a 101-93 lead.

In the team's first two conference games of the season, Lunday paced the Falcons with 18 points and nine rebounds at No. 4 Lubbock Christian (Dec. 3), and was again the Falcons' leading scorer with 24 points while shooting 10-for-11 from the free throw line at Midwestern State (Dec. 5). He added 10 points and nine rebounds in UTPB's first home conference game vs. Texas A&M-Kingsville (Dec. 11), and then led all players with 23 points while shooting 11-for-12 from the free throw line and adding seven rebounds vs. Texas A&M International (Dec. 13).

Lunday averaged a 20-point double-double (20.5 points, 10 rebounds) for the week at the River City Holiday Classic. He shot 52 percent from the field and 93 percent on 15 attempts from the free throw line. In a 75-68 win over Pittsburg State University (Dec. 16) on the first day of the tournament, Lunday played all 40 minutes and led the Falcons with 18 points. He also pulled down a game-high nine rebounds and was again a merchant at the free throw line, where he finished 10-for-11. It was his second game in a row and fourth game of the season with double-digit makes from the free throw line. The next day in a 78-64 loss vs. the No. 20 University of Arkansas Fort Smith (Dec. 17), Lunday finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds for his fifth 20-point game and fourth double-double of the season, all while shooting a season-high 69.2 percent (9-13) from the field.

Lastly, Lunday averaged a double-double with 25.5 points and 10.0 rebounds per game during UTPB's only 2-0 week of the season. In an 82-80 victory at Oklahoma Christian University (Jan. 8), Lunday led all players with 26 points, scoring 20 points in the second half and shooting 11-for-21 from the field while adding 14 rebounds as well, and hit the go-ahead layup with seven seconds remaining. Lunday was then one of three Falcons to score at least 25 points as UTPB 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 (Jan. 10). Lunday was 9-for-11 from the free throw line against the Aggies, and went to the free throw line with 20 seconds left in double overtime and made both shots to make it 113-108, effectively sealing the victory.

Sharrod Taylor – Sr., Guard – Honorable Mention All-LSC
Taylor started in 22 of his 24 games played, ranked second on the team in scoring (16.3 ppg), and led the team with 4.0 assists per game, 71 made 3-pointers and 35 steals. He was also second on the team in made field goals (123), made free throws (74) and 3-point field goal percentage (38.0). He reached double-digit scoring in 18 games, including each of the final 15 games of the season, and had seven 20-point games and two 30-point games. He drained at least three 3-pointers in 15 games, including each of the final 10 games of the year, and made five or more 3-pointers six times. Earlier this year, Taylor was named UTPB's Men's Student-Athlete of the Month for January and was named the Lone Star Conference's Offensive Player of the Week after scoring 35 points, the third most points in a single game in the LSC this season, in a 100-95 overtime road win over Texas A&M International University on Thursday, January 22. In addition, his 12 assists vs. The University of Texas at Dallas (Jan. 17) were the second-most in the LSC this season. In the LSC, Taylor ranked eighth in points per game and was fifth in assists per game and 14th in steals per game. He was also first in the conference in made threes per game (3.0) and was second in 3-point field goal percentage and fifth in made 3-pointers. He also led the LSC with 26 field goal attempts and 18 3-point field goals attempts in one game vs. Midwestern State (Feb. 19) during UTPB's final week at home. He attempted at least 19 field goals in a game four times, attempted at least 13 3-pointers in a game four times, scored at least 28 points in four games, and dished out at least eight assists in four games as well. In addition, his 14 free throw attempts (12-14) against TAMIU where the most free throw attempts by any Falcon this season.

In his first 30-point game of the season, Taylor finished with 31 points and 10 rebounds to help the Falcons earn a 103-93 win over MSU Denver (Nov. 29) in its final game of the CSU Pueblo Thanksgiving Classic. Taylor was one of the three Falcons with a double-double and five assists against the Roadrunners. Taylor shot 9-for-21 from the field, 6-for-15 from three, and was 7-of-9 from the free throw line in the win.

Taylor would later tie his season-high with six 3-pointers (6-13) and helped push UTPB past the finish line to earn its first conference win of the season, draining a go-ahead 3-pointer in the final minute and finishing with 22 points in an 82-80 win at Oklahoma Christian (Jan. 8). Taylor then approached triple-double territory with 18 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in a 115-108 double overtime victory at Cameron (Jan. 10) and reached a double-double with 11 points and 12 assists in a 78-70 home win over UT Dallas (Jan. 17).

Taylor set a new season-high with 12 made free throws (12-14) in the win at Texas A&M International (Jan. 22), and also set a new season-high with 10 made field goals (10-19) while scoring 29 points vs. Western New Mexico University (Feb. 7). Two games later, he would make at least nine shots (9-18) for the third time on the season while scoring 28 points at St. Edward's University (Feb. 14).

UTPB's 100-95 overtime win at Texas A&M International came thanks to a herculean effort by Taylor, who hit the game-tying 3-pointer with 4.4 seconds left in regulation to send it to overtime and finished the game with 35 points. Taylor shot 9-for-16 from the field, 5-for-8 from three and 12-for-14 from the free throw line, but in addition to his 35 points, added a team-high nine rebounds, a team-high five assists, and a game-high four steals. He scored 20 points in the second half and added six more points in the overtime period. With UTPB on the comeback trail for most of the second half, Taylor did his best to be aggressive down the stretch and keep the Falcons in it, scoring 18 points in the final 6:34 of regulation.