Oklahoma Panhandle State University

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Goodwell, Okla.— The University of Texas Permian Basin women's and men's basketball teams each sit in the top five among Heartland Conference ranks and proved their positions in Thursday night's match-ups with the OPSU Aggies.

It was another Pink Out in the Oscar Williams Field House in support of Jennifer Lazenby's fight with breast cancer and Aggie fans were in for an exciting ride. The Aggie women were up against a fourth-ranked UTPB team and put in great defensive work, closely matching the Lady Falcons at the boards 38-39. The Aggies were down 22-37 at the half but came back strong in the second half, improving their shooting from 30 percent to 52 percent. UTPB averaged a consistent 40 percent throughout the game and maintained their lead for the 76-59 victory.

Senior Hannah Tatum had a great night for the Aggies earning a double-double with team-highs of 16 points and 10 rebounds. Tatyana Bell, Kiera Waters and Sade Tutson also put in solid work scoring a combined 34 points for the Aggies. Contributing at the boards, Waters and Celci Bakos totaled eight and five rebounds respectively. Valerie Barriga scored a game-high of 22 points for the Lady Falcons; teammate Myangel Johnson earned a double-double with 16 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
 

The Aggies fall to a 3-22 record with one conference win on the season. Coach Charles Terry was pleased with his team's effort saying, "I was very proud of how we competed and played hard. Not taking anything away from UTPB, it was out mistakes that did us in, but I'm very proud of how we played."

The Aggie men were up next taking on a 10-6 Falcon team that sat tied for second in conference ranks. The Falcon's size overpowered the Aggies at the boards as UTPB totaled 43 rebounds to the Aggies' 17 for the game. With a 19-point deficit at the break (34-53) the Aggies could not manage a second-half comeback and fell 61-93 to the Falcons. UTPB held the Aggies to 29 percent shooting from the field while they averaged 58 percent on the night. The Aggies were consistent at the line going 24-29 for an 83 percent free-throw average.

Antonio Manns, Jr. put up another game-high performance totaling 27 points for the Aggies and going 15-16 from the line. The Falcons game leader was Phadarius Taylor who earned a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds; Codye Hatcher also brought down a game-high 10 rebounds for UTPB. DeShawn Dean grabbed five boards for OPSU with Manns taking three. The Aggie men hold a 3-22 overall record and one win in the Heartland Conference.

Coach Jerry Olson gave credit to UTPB's athleticism saying, "I don't understand how they've lost that many games." Olson, disappointed in the Aggies' defensive efforts said, "Defensively we've got to keep the ball out of the paint. All our problems stem from letting guys get between us. We were in the game for the first half, but a couple players got away from our game plan which led to fast break points and easy points for the other team."
 
The Aggies will play their final home games of the season Saturday, Feb. 21 against St. Edward's University. The women will recognize their senior players prior to tip-off which is scheduled for 1 p.m.; the men's game will follow. Let's pack the Oscar Williams Field House and MAKE SOME NOISE for the Aggies!