The UTPB men’s basketball team has seen some of its Lone Star Conference opponents over its last three nonconference games, with the most recent matchup resulting in an 81-74 win against St. Edward’s Thursday at the Falcon Dome.
After seeing the conference from afar before taking over the Falcons program, UTPB head coach Kyle Tolin said he’s expecting his team to get tough competition from every team in the league.
“Now to be able to be in it, you can tell that the level of players and coaches in this league are all really, really good,” Tolin said.
UTPB was in control for much of game, but St. Edward’s showed multiple times that it could close the gap.
A 3-pointer from Keyon Craddock put the Falcons up 19-17 with about nine minutes left in the first half and they built up the lead with quick layups.
Jordan Horn had an efficient start to the game for the Falcons, scoring 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting at the end of the opening period.
Tolin said he wanted his team to adjust its ball movement on offense after holding the Hilltoppers to 28 points at halftime.
That worked for the Falcons, as they closed out the contest with 17 assists.
“The ball wasn’t moving great in the first half, I thought we guarded pretty well,” Tolin said. “I think that was the whole key in the second half, the ball moved way better.”
UTPB (5-3 overall) shot an efficient 66.7% from the field in the second half and kept the Hilltoppers at bay with some impactful scoring plays until late in the game.
One of those plays included a full-court pass from DaJuan Jones to Lemmie Howard, who finished a dunk to give the Falcons a 78-65 lead with 1:34 left in regulation.
Marcus Hill finished a four-point play with 32 seconds on the clock to put St. Edward’s within seven, but it wasn’t enough to cut the Falcon advantage.
Jones closed out the game with a double-double, scoring 16 points and recording 12 assists for UTPB.
Horn led the Falcons with 19 points, connecting on four of his seven 3-point attempts.
The Falcons continue nonconference play against St. Mary’s at 4 p.m. Saturday at the Falcon Dome.
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UTPB 81, St. Edward’s 74
UTPB (5-3)
Lemmie Howard 2-4 1-2 5, Miles Daniels 5-9 0-0 11, DaJuan Jones 4-8 7-8 16, Jordan Horn 7-12 1-2 19, Kendal Frey 4-9 0-0 8, Zavon Godwin 1-2 0-0 2, Max Warren 2-4 0-0 4, Quinntez Grimes 4-4 0-0 8, Keyon Craddock 2-5 0-0 6, Alvarez Powell 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 32-59 9-12 81.
St. Edward’s (5-3)
Bennett Mohn 3-8 6-6 13, Logan Cook 4-7 2-2 10, Mason Hix 6-11 3-3 19, Daniel Venzant 3-12 2-4 9, Uche Dibiamaka 3-9 2-2 8, Marcus Hill 4-7 1-1 12, Blake Nielsen 1-2 0-0 3, Gavino Ramos 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 24-61 16-18 74.
Halftime — UTPB 32, St. Edward’s 28. 3-Point goals — UTPB 8-23 (Daniels 1-4, Jones 1-3, Horn 4-7, Frey 0-4, Godwin 0-1, Craddock 2-3, Powell 0-1), St. Edward’s 10-29 (Mohn 1-4, Hix 4-8, Venzant 1-4, Dibiamaka 0-3, Hill 3-6, Nielsen 1-1, Ramos 0-3). Total fouls — UTPB 16, St. Edward’s 13. Fouled out — UTPB (Daniels). Technical fouls — UTPB (Daniels). Rebounds — UTPB 38 (Howard 9), St. Edward’s 29 (Cook 14). Assists — UTPB 17 (Jones 12), St. Edward’s 12 (Cook 4).
