The first two weeks of the UTPB men’s basketball season presents a unique opportunity for the Falcons as it gives them a chance to face three different schools from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
Considering that the Lone Star Conference teams are in the same region as the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, UTPB head coach Kyle Tolin hopes that these early nonconference games prove to be crucial by the time March rolls around.
“These games are so important because you’re playing the same teams that are in our region,” Tolin said. “Anytime you can win one of those games, it raises your RPI and your numbers when it comes to march when it comes time to see who makes it and who doesn’t. That’s part of the reason why we got four games against the Rocky Mountain Conference opponents in the first couple of weeks. Hopefully it’ll help us at the end of the year.”
The Falcons began their season with a 72-69 loss to Adams State last Friday at the Conference Crossover in Silver City, N.M. before finishing the weekend with an 81-72 win over Westminster (Colo.) on Saturday, putting UTPB at 1-1 for the season.
They’ll get a chance to see Adams State again and more of the Rocky Mountain Conference when they face Fort Lewis this week at the Fort Lewis Classic in Durango, Colo.
UTPB will face Adams State at 4:30 p.m. before taking on Fort Lewis at 6 p.m. Saturday.
While Tolin and his players are hoping for a different result against Adams State this Friday, Tolin said it feels weird playing the same team twice in less than two weeks.
“Usually, you play somebody again months down the road but here it’s just one week apart,” Tolin said. “We need to figure out if we got better or not.”
>> On the road: While being on the road, especially early in the season, is all part of the course, Tolin says they are looking forward to being able to play at home soon.
“Obviously, you like to be at home,” Tolin said. “The way it worked out this year, you get two conference challenge games which is what last week was. We’re in a four-year rotation so the next three years, we’ll be on the road for that. We were able to talk to Fort Lewis and play them. We’re going to go to their place and then we’re going to return it next year so we’ll get some home games then. It’s hard being on the road.”
UTPB’s first home game will be at 2 p.m. Nov. 25 against Ecclesia in the Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux Thanksgiving Classic.
Last week’s road trip wasn’t without its vehicle troubles for the Falcons as Tolin said they faced a three-hour delay last Thursday night.
“Our road trip last week, the bus broke down and we were delayed,” Tolin said. “You just have to adjust when you’re on the road. I think that’s the beauty of being on the road. You just have to figure things out and do tough things and be discipline. It’ll be another test for us this week. Hopefully, we can play well and learn from last week.”
>> Saturday improvements: DaJuan Jones was one of three UTPB players to score 15 points in Saturday’s win over Westminster.
Jones went 3-10 on field goals, 1-4 on 3-pointers and was a perfect 8-8 from the free throw line.
It was a sharp turnaround for the senior guard from Killeen who only put up five points the previous night against Adams State.
“I thought he played better,” Tolin said of Jones. “I was disappointed in the way we played Friday night. I didn’t feel like our team played as week Friday night but we challenged some of those guys Friday night at the Hotel and we told them that they had to play better. I thought DaJuan did a great job Saturday. I thought he was really good on the defensive end. He got to the free throw line a lot which is what we need. He makes his free throws. I thought that was really good.”
>> Player of the week: UTPB’s women’s basketball player Avalon Munoz was named the Lone Star Conference Women’s Defensive Player of the Week after her performance from the opening weekend.
Munoz and the UTPB defense allowed just 54.5 points per game in wins over South Dakota Mines and Colorado Mesa last week.
The San Antonio native had 11 steals last week which was the most in the LSC and has helped the UTPB women’s team to its first 2-0 start since the 2014-15 season.
The Falcons forced 54 turnovers and held their opponents to .349 shooting.
>> Worth mentioning: The regular season came to an end for the Lone Star Conference football teams last week.
UTPB ended its season with a 49-14 loss to Central Washington Saturday in Ellensburg, Wa., closing the year at a 5-6 overall record (4-5 in LSC).
Only one school from the Lone Star Conference got in the NCAA Division II playoffs as undefeated Angelo State (11-0) earned a No. 1 seed in its region.
With the No. 1 seed, the Rams will get a first-round bye before facing the winner of Bemidji State-Winona State at home on Nov. 26.
The Rams are the first Lone Star Conference team to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Division II playoffs since Midwestern State in 2015.
The Falcons lost to the Rams 34-21 back in September in Midland.
