With the race for the Heartland Conference regular-season championship and a spot in the conference tournament tightening, every game is important for the UAFS men’s basketball team, particularly road games.
            The Lions will look to end their road woes on Thursday against the University of Texas of the Permian Basin at the Falcon Dome in Odessa, Texas. UAFS beat UTPB 91-78 at the Stubblefield Center on Jan. 14.
            Tipoff will be 7:30 p.m. Live statistics will be available by visiting the UTPB athletics website at www.utpbfalcons.com.
            The top four teams at the end of the conference season advance to the conference tournament. UAFS (12-11, 5-4) is in fifth place but only one-half game behind fourth-place Dallas Baptist (14-8, 5-3).
            Newman University (15-6, 7-2), which lost consecutive road games to UAFS and Dallas Baptist last week, and Texas A&M International (17-5, 7-2), which lost to UTPB in overtime on Saturday, are tied for first place. St. Mary’s University (13-7, 6-3) is in third place.
            UAFS has three road games remaining – UTPB, St. Edward’s and Dallas Baptist. The Lions, however, are only 1-5 on the road overall and 1-3 on the road during conference play with the only win coming at last-place Oklahoma Panhandle State.
            The Lions are coming off a 53-50 win against Panhandle State on Saturday to sweep that regular-season series.
UAFS is averaging 77.2 points per game with three players averaging double-figures in scoring – junior forward Djordje Stojanovic (14.1), sophomore guard Jake Toupal (13) and senior guard Kelson Stewart (10.8). The Lions are allowing 72.1 points per game and are forcing 14 turnovers per game. Toupal leads the team with 29 steals.
            The Lions are out-rebounding their opponents by almost nine rebounds per game (40.2-31.4). Senior forward Wayne Jackson and Stojanovic lead the team with 7.3 and 6.2 rebounds per game.
            UTPB (10-12, 4-5) have won four of its past five games and is coming off a 49-47 overtime road win against Texas A&M International – the Falcons’ third consecutive win. The Falcons, however, are only 4-6 overall at home and 1-3 at home during league play with that win coming against Panhandle State.
            The Falcons are averaging 67 points per game with two players averaging double-figures in scoring – Brandon Harrison (11.3) and Erik Martin (10.9). UTPB is allowing 66 points per game and is forcing 15.3 turnovers per game. Martin leads the team with 23 steals.
            UTPB is being out-rebounded by its opponents by more than three rebounds per game (32.7-29.6). Martin and Harrison lead the team with 4.5 and 4.3 rebounds per game, respectively.