The UTPB men’s basketball team saw its game against Eastern New Mexico come down to some key moments toward the end of regulation.
After being down by one point with 38 seconds left, Jordan Horn brought the Falcons back with a 3-pointer from the right corner to give UTPB a late advantage.
Lemmie Howard followed with two made free throws to help the Falcons pick up a 73-69 win over Eastern New Mexico in Lone Star Conference play Thursday at the Falcon Dome.
“It was a really physical and tough game,” UTPB coach Kyle Tolin said. “They’re really aggressive on the glass, they play really hard and do a good job pounding the ball inside.”
Tolin feels that his team is making progress from where it was two weeks when it was on a three-game losing streak.
The first half presented a close matchup, with both teams shooting at 50% or above from the field.
One point separated both teams during the early part of the first half, with quick scoring runs helping the Falcons amplify their advantage as the period moved forward.
Miles Daniels was one of UTPB’s most efficient shooters early, making six of his nine shot attempts and recording 16 points before the halftime break.
DaJuan Jones also played an important role for the Falcons, drawing defenders into the paint to give his teammates chances to score from the perimeter.
With a little over 11 minutes remaining in the second half, Jones drove to the basket and scored a contested layup to give UTPB an eight-point lead, one of its largest of the contest.
After making the basket, the UTPB point guard took some time to get off the floor and was hobbled as he went to the free throw line to try and finish a 3-point play.
Eastern New Mexico would go on to outscore UTPB 36-32 in the second half, but couldn’t stop the Falcons from grabbing their third conference victory.
UTPB was able to shake off the dust from a 30-point loss it suffered against West Texas A&M on Jan. 22 on the road.
“We didn’t play very good last Saturday, Thursday was a little bit better and we didn’t play as well Saturday,” Tolin said. “We tried to focus on specific things in practice and I thought we did a better job of that.”
The Falcons (11-8 overall, 3-4 conference) host No. 1-ranked Lubbock Christian at 4 p.m. Saturday at the Falcon Dome.
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UTPB 73, Eastern New Mexico 69
EASTERN NEW MEXICO (6-10, 2-5 Lone Star Conference)
Yosnier Cobas 2-5 12-12 16, Jared Perry 0-0 0-0 0, Kentrell Pullian 3-12 2-4 9, Adam Hess 2-7 0-2 4, Cornell Greenwood 4-5 0-0 9, Marvin Mapaga 7-8 2-2 17, Kevin Nze Mba 2-3 2-3 6, Niko Bossinakis 3-8 0-2 8, Sebastian Jimenez 0-1 0-0 0, Garrick Sherrod 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-49 18-25 69.
UTPB (11-8, 3-4 Lone Star Conference)
Lemmie Howard 3-5 4-4 10, Miles Daniels 6-16 2-2 18, DaJuan Jones 6-15 1-3 14, Jordan Horn 7-12 1-1 18, Kendal Frey 0-6 2-2 2, Keyon Craddock 1-1 0-0 2, Max Warren 1-3 0-2 2, Quinntez Grimes 1-1 1-1 3, Zavon Godwin 2-2 0-1 4, Alvarez Powell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-61 11-16 73.
Halftime — UTPB 41, Eastern New Mexico 33. 3-Point goals — Eastern New Mexico 5-20 (Pullian 1-5, Hess 0-3, Greenwood 1-2, Mapaga 1-1, Nze Mba 0-1, Bossinakis 2-7, Jimenez 0-1), UTPB 8-31 (Daniels 4-13, Jones 1-8, Horn 3-5, Frey 0-5). Total fouls — Eastern New Mexico 19, UTPB 23. Fouled out — Eastern New Mexico (Greenwood, Mapaga ), UTPB (Frey). Technical fouls — UTPB (Grimes). Rebounds — Eastern New Mexico 40 (Cobas, Pullian 6), UTPB 25 (Craddock 5). Assists — Eastern New Mexico 7 (Cobas, Pullian, Mapaga 2), UTPB 11 (Jones 6).
