ODESSA – The Angelo State men's basketball team will go into a 13-day break after a 79-67 non-conference loss to Texas-Permian Basin on Wednesday at the Falcon Dome.

The Rams (3-7) will not return to the court again until 2013 where they'll resume Lone Star Conference play at Cameron on Jan. 2 and then will host Midwestern State on Saturday, Jan. 5 at the Junell Center. The loss drops the Rams to 0-5 on the road this season and to 2-4 in non-conference games. The Falcons (2-5) outrebounded the Rams 41-25 in the game, including a 17-6 advantage in the offensive rebounding category.

UTPB finished the game on a 10-1 run after also closing a first-half gap which had Angelo State leading 35-29. The Falcons would go on a run that would give them a 41-36 halftime lead.

“It was kind of a tale between 22 minutes and 18,” ASU head coach Fred Rike said. “I thought we played really good basketball for the first 18 minutes and then there was a span at the end of the first half and then the second half where we weren't very good.”

Jovan Austin and Antonio Dye led the Rams with 19 points each, while Ryan Marsh scored seven point and a game-high four blocks. Bryan Hammond and Chris Talkington each added six points for the Rams who only committed seven turnovers in the game.

Dye, who also led ASU with four 3-pointers and five rebounds, had 16 first-half points in the game and established a new career-high that was at 18 in the Rams' game against Minnesota-Duluth at the St. Mary's Invitational. Austin scored 11 of his 19 points in the second half.

The Rams shot 45 percent from the field in the game, including hitting 6 of 17 from behind the 3-point line (35 percent). Angelo State made 13 of 19 from the free-throw line, but the Falcons held the advantage at the stripe by making 19 of their 21 free throws.

Rob Heyer led UTPB with 21 points, while Sebastian Fabian added 18 and Xavier Martin had 15 in his first game of the season. Colton Thompson joined his teammates in double figures with 13 for the Falcons who shot 42 percent from the field. UTPB also had six 3-pointers in the game.

The Rams will enter the break on a three-game losing streak and are now 7-5 all-time against UTPB. ASU will host the Falcons after playing Cameron and Midwestern State in a Jan. 8 game at the Junell Center.

“We'll get them again at our place in January and we'll have a good break here where our guys can get a mental break,” Rike said. “We'll get right back to work after Christmas and be ready for Cameron. This wasn't a conference game, which is good, but we have to be ready for our next conference game.”