Hounds come up short in 78-74 loss to Permian Basin

ODESSA, Texas – In control much of the way, Texas-Permian Basin needed free throws and a late layup after an offensive rebound to hold off Eastern New Mexico University for a 78-74 Lone Star Conference men’s victory on Thursday night.

Senior guard Mason Adeleye scored 26 points for the West Division-leading Falcons (11-3, 7-1 LSC), including the game-clinching layup with 10 seconds left after a rebound by senior forward Alex Matthews.

Matthews, who played the entire 40 minutes, posted his first double-double of the campaign with 14 points and 11 rebounds, shooting 4-of-6 from distance, and also stuffed the stat sheet with five assists, three blocks and two steals.

Senior guard D.J. Armstrong added 12 points for UTPB on 4-of-9 shooting from distance, while senior guard Freddie Word collected 11 points and six caroms and senior center Dario Domingos pitched in 10 tallies. Starters contributed all but 30 minutes and five points to the Falcons’ totals.

“This was a tough Lone Star Conference game against a good team,” second-year UTPB coach Kyle Tolin told the Falcons’ website. “I thought we made enough plays to win the game. Several of our guys really stepped up and played well.”

For the Hounds (9-5, 4-4 LSC), freshman guard Mo Austin netted 16 points and six rebounds, senior guard Cougar Downing collected 12 points, junior guard/forward Treyvon Byrd added 11 points and six boards and senior forward Mario Whitley notched his sixth double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 caroms. ENMU posted a 47-35 edge in rebounds, but shot just 38 percent from the floor – 13 points below their conference-leading percentage – while the Falcons went 25-of-56 (45 percent) from the floor and converted 20-of-27 free throws to 14-of-20 for the Hounds.

“We missed too many free throws,” first-year ENMU coach Daven Vo said, noting that three of the misses were the front end of 1-and-1s.

ENMU’s only lead was 2-0 on a dunk by junior forward Jose Murillo. After a 5-5 tie, the Falcons stayed in front – by 12 points in the first half, and by 10 in the second – before the Hounds rallied to pull even 60-60 on an Austin layup with just over seven minutes to go.

Armstrong, though, hit a 3-pointer on the Falcons’ next trip, and they never relinquished the lead.

Women – Trailing 5-2, UTPB went on a 27-0 run to lead 29-5 at the quarter and the Falcons stayed in control en route to a 77-62 victory in the first half of the doubleheader.

Junior center/forward Khiara Flugence scored 18 points for Permian Basin, shooting 7-of-10 from the field, while senior guard Taysha Rushton went 7-for-11 and added 16. Also, senior forward Morgan Helgesen chipped in 12 off the bench on 4-of-8 from 3-point range.

Sophomore guard Jaz Salon topped ENMU with 12 points off the bench, going 4-for-8 from distance. Junior guard Jayla Smith added 11 and junior guard Victoria Barrera tossed in 10 off the bench, including a trio of 3-point shots.

With the loss, the Hounds (11-3, 6-2 LSC) fell out of a four-way tie for first place in the West Division while the Falcons (9-5, 7-1) stayed even in the top spot with Angelo State and Lubbock Christian, both of whom won on Thursday.

ENMU leads the all-time series between the teams 10-6, but UTPB has now won the last three matchups. Prior to that, the Hounds had taken seven of the previous eight from the Falcons.

Flugence went off for 11 points in the opening frame, shooting 5-of-7 from the floor. Smith’s 3-pointer and sophomore forward Julieta Ceja’s stickback gave the Hounds a 5-2 lead in the first two minutes of the game, but it was all Falcons the rest of the stanza.

ENMU shot just 2-of-11 from the floor in the period, including 1-of-9 from 3-point range.

The Hounds bounced back to outscore Permian Basin 23-18 in the second canto and cut the halftime margin to 19. The Falcons then pushed their lead to 63-36 late in the third before the Hounds managed to chip away a bit down the stretch.

UTPB shot 44 percent on 28-of-64, including 10-of-30 on 3s, while limiting ENMU to 22-of-61 overall and 11-of-39 from beyond the arc. The Falcons also converted 27 Hounds turnovers into 34 points.

ENMU squads traveled on Friday to San Angelo, Texas, where they played LSC tilts on Saturday against Angelo State. The Hounds return to Steve Loy Arena for LSC twin bills against Sul Ross State at 5 and 7 p.m. on Thursday and against Western New Mexico at 1 and 3 p.m. on Saturday.