The UTPB men’s basketball went from the catbird to the hot seat in a matter of moments against Midwestern State.
Up comfortably at halftime and much of the second half, the Falcons were having to fend off the Mustangs, their lead a single point with 20 seconds remaining to play.
Keyon Craddock made a pair of free throws with 14 seconds remaining to push the lead to three and when the Mustangs final 3-pointer caromed off the rim at the buzzer, the UTPB escaped with a 79-76 victory in Lone State conference play Saturday at the Falcon Dome.
Jalen King led UTPB (10-9 overall, 3-6 in conference) with 24 points, with Azariah Seay finishing with 18 and DaJuan Jones 12 in the victory.
King had eight rebounds and Jones chipped in seven assists.
“It was a nice win,” UTPB head coach Kyle Tolin said. “I was happy with the way they responded at the end.
“We made a run and then they came right back. Jalen played well for us today, and on Thursday, and we need that in order to win.”
Jermane Carter had 24 points to lead Midwestern State (8-9, 5-6), with Pierre Sanders adding 18 and Derrick Ogechi 13.
Carter also grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
It was the second straight victory for the Falcons, who defeated Cameron on Thursday to snap a five-game losing streak.
UTPB was comfortably ahead at halftime (43-27) and matched the Mustangs through the early going in the second half, leading 53-40 with 15:15 remaining to play.
The lead was 10 when Jones, who was 4 of 6 from long distance, hit a step-back, 24-foot jumper from the top of the key as the shot clock was expiring to expand the Falcons’ lead.
The Mustangs promptly scored eight unanswered points on a field goal by Carter and back-to-back 3-pointers by Ogechi to cut the deficit to five (62-57) and force Tolin to call a timeout with 8:51 to play.
UTPB answered with a 10-4 run of its own, capped by another long 3-pointer from Jones, this one from the Falcons’ logo 30 feet from the basket.
That put the Falcons in front by 13 (74-61) with less than four minutes to play, but the Mustangs didn’t go away.
A layup by Sanders preceded a steal and layup by Sanders, which was followed by a 3-pointer by Ogechi after Sanders had stolen the ball again, then fed his teammate on the left wing.
That brought Midwestern State withing six (74-68) with 2:48 to play and it was game on the rest of the way.
UTPB will now go on the road to face St. Edward’s in Austin on Thursday and then play St. Mary’s in San Antonio next Saturday.
“This is such a tough conference,” Tolin said. “We had a good week and we can use that when we come back to practice Monday to get ready for next week.”
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UTPB 79, Midwestern State 76
Saturday, Falcon Dome
MIDWESTERN STATE (8-9 overall, 5-6 Lone Star)
Jermane Carter 8-15 8-14 24, Luke Hamilton 1-5 0-0 3, Marquis Davison 2-6 3-4 7, Pierre Sanders 7-10 2-2 18, Derrick Ogechi 5-11 0-1 13, John Weger 1-1 0-0 2, DuncanAlevok 1-2 0-0 2, Mason Gibson 2-4 1-2 7, Logan Epes 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-54 14-23 76.
UTPB (10-9, 3-6)
Lino Manhom 2-2 0-0 4, Jalen King 10-15 4-4 24, DaJuan Jones 4-6 0-0 12, Azariah Seay 7-19 0-0 18, Keyon Craddock 1-8 2-2 4, Alvarez Powell 2-3 0-1 4, Max Warren 2-3 1-2 5, Daniel Moody 3-5 0-0 8, D’Mari Wiltz 0-0 0-0 0, Nathaniel Powell 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 31-62 7-9 79.
Halftime — UTPB 43, Midwestern State 27. 3-Point goals — Midwestern State 8-21 (Carter 0-2, Hamilton 1-5, Davison 0-1, Sanders 2-3, Ogechi 3-6, Gibson 2-4), UTPB 10-24 (Jones 4-6, Seay 4-10, Craddock 0-4, Moody 2-4). Total fouls — Midwestern State 16, UTPB 19 Fouled out — Midwestern State (Davison), UTPB (Seay). Technical fouls — None Rebounds — Midwestern State 31 (Carter 12), UTPB 34 (King 8). Assists — Midwestern State 8 (Carter 3, Sanders 3), UTPB 20 (Jones 7).
