LAWTON – For the second straight game played in the Aggie Gym, the men's basketball went to overtime, this time losing to UT Permian Basin on Thursday night 85-77 despite a pair of double-doubles from Colt Savage and Connor Slater. 
 
The Aggie men entered Thursday, not having played a home game since Dec. 2 and not having played a game since Jan. 2. Under the new direction of Jeff Mahoney, Cameron battled the Falcons for forty minutes, falling just shy of their first Lone Star Conference win of the season. 
 
Savage and Slater were both tough down low for the Aggies as Savage recorded his second double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds and Slater recorded his first of the year with 13 points and 11 boards. The third-year forward also had five assists against UTPB.
 
UTPB tried to pull away from CU early in the first half, building multiple leads of at most seven points. However, each time the Aggies came firing back, tying the game multiple times in the first 20 minutes of action. After a pair of free throws by Savage got CU to within three in the final seconds, Lemmie Howard answered and gave the Falcons a 37-32 lead at the break. 
 
Savage, who had eight points in the opening minutes of the second half, and the rest of the Aggies came out with a new energy in the second half and a layup by Darius Green gave them their first lead, 46-42, at the 16:03 mark. A three by Brock Schreiner a few minutes later gave CU a six-point advantage and they held the lead until UTPB took back the lead at the 9:38 mark. From there, neither team led by more than four points. 
 
After Slater gave the Aggies a 72-70 lead with 1:11 to play, Quinntez Grimes answered and tied the game with 52 seconds to left in regulation. UTPB missed a three with seconds to play and then Slater blocked the tip-in attempt and grabbed the board, giving the Aggies a chance to win the game with just 2.5 ticks on the clock. Savage missed a good look at a long three to force overtime. 
 
UTPB scored the first five points of overtime, but scores by Marques Warrior Jr. and Schreiner cut the lead to one with 1:48 to play. The Falcons Miles Daniels missed three straight free throws, giving CU a chance to take the lead, but Warrior's pull-up jumper fell short. Kendal Frey made a clutch three on the next possession and then Dajuan Jones made four free throws down the stretch to secure the win. 
 
Joshua Fanuiel and Deondre Earley joined Savage and Slater as the four Aggie players to score in double-figures. Fanuiel led the way with 18 points and six rebounds off the bench while Earley added 11 off the CU pine. Warrior finished with a team-high six assists and Slater scored nine with a trio of made threes. 
 
As a team, Cameron shot 41 percent from the field and was 7-23 from three and 14-21 from the charity stripe. They only turned the ball over 11 times and out-rebounded UTPB 46-42. The Falcons shot 44 percent from the floor, were 8-28 from three and 11-18 from the foul line. Jones had a double-double for UTPB with 20 points and 11 assists.
 
The Aggies fall to 2-8 overall and 0-4 in league play with the loss. They will try again for their first league win on Saturday, Jan. 22, when they host Angelo State with tip scheduled for 4 p.m.