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Edinburg, Texas – A late second half surge by Texas State (3-1) wasn't enough to come away with the win, as the men's basketball team fell for the first time this season, 79-77, to UT Pan American (1-3). Eddie Rios had 14 points and five assists, while Matt Staff had 14 points and nine rebounds to lead the Bobcats.

Texas State came out of the locker room at halftime like a team on a mission. The Bobcats went on a 10-2 run to go up 42-41 to start the period and garner their first lead of the game, which forced the Broncs to call a timeout.

The Broncs found a way to battle back on the scoreboard. They matched their largest lead of the game at 11 – but Texas State was not to be underestimated.

With just under four minutes left in the game, UTPA saw themselves with a 71-63 lead on Texas State. The Broncs Brandon Provost drained a three-pointer to boost their lead to 74-63 with 3:30 remaining. The Bobcats began chipping away at the Broncs lead, which resulted in a thriller for the second-straight night for Bobcat fans.

A blocking foul on Staff with 1:16 to go and the Bobcats down by four points, sent UTPA to the free throw line for two. Josh Cleveland missed the first, but made the second to give the Broncs a 76-71 edge.

Back-to-back baskets by Vonn Jones brought Texas State to within one. Rios tied the game at 76-All with 43 seconds left after a made free throw. With the roaring UTPA crowd in the background he made his second attempt to give Texas State a 77-76 lead. The Bobcats' Koenen was called for a foul with 20.2 seconds on the clock to send UTPA's Provost to the line. Provost made both free throws as the Broncs went up by one.

Texas State missed a jumper on the other end and was forced to foul. UTPA wasn't able to take advantage as it made one of two free throws, giving Texas State the ball back with 2.9 seconds to go in the game and a 79-77 score in the Broncs favor. A long range three-point attempt by Rios bounced off the backboard with time expiring and the Bobcats dropped their first game of the season.

Staff and Hinton led the Bobcats with eight points each at halftime. Texas State was11-for-11 from the charity stripe in the first half, but it just couldn't slow down the Broncs as they held a seven-point advantage at the half. Texas State finished 21-for-23 (91.3%) from the charity stripe. UTPA was held to 62.1 percent (18-29).

Texas State closes out play in the Texas Pan American Tournament tomorrow against USC-Upstate. Tip-off is slated for 4:30 p.m.