ODESSA, Texas -- Pierre Sanders just wasn't going to let Midwestern State lose Saturday afternoon at the Falcon Dome.

The senior from Hutto poured in a season-high 32 points and the Mustangs overcame a 20-point deficit to win 80-74 in overtime.

"Pierre Sanders would not be denied," MSU coach Justin Leslie said. "He led by his accountability. The strength of our team is our defense. Pierre was not only scoring, then he is guarding, and telling our bench to pick up the energy."

And the Mustangs needed every bit of his scoring, encouragement, and energy against the Falcons.

UT Permian Basin punched first, jumping out to a 33-13 lead through the opening 14 minutes of the game and took a 13-point lead into halftime.

The message was simple for the Mustangs.

"They took our lunch money. It's time to go get it back," Sanders said.

Sanders not only did it with his play as he connected on 13-of-18 shots from the field with three 3-pointers while grabbing six rebound and dishing out three assists. He also reminded his teammates what it takes to win.

"I couldn't (let us lose)," he said. "On Thursday, we had a meeting. It was a reality meeting, as I would call it. As we were going through the game today, I was making sure the guys knew that the defense, rebounding, and energy would make us win. That showed today."

The Mustangs never led in regulation and trailed by eight points heading into the final 10 minutes.

But they also knew the Falcons had lost a 10-point lead and lost in overtime Thursday night against Lubbock Christian.

"I kept telling the guys to give them reason to doubt," Leslie said.

Sanders ignited a 7-0 run with a pair of layups and the Mustangs pulled within 54-53 on Noah McDavid's layup with 8:13 to play.

Then Sanders and McDavid scored on consecutive layups to level the game at 57-57 with 5:16 to go.

But the Falcons weren't quite ready to fold.

Dario Domingos, a 6-7 senior center, scored six consecutive points to build a new lead for the Falcons. He finished the game with 20 points on 9-of-10 shooting with eight rebounds.

D.J. Armstrong buried triples on back-to-back possessions for UTPB, and the Falcons controlled a six-point edge with 31 seconds to play.

Sanders responded with a pair of free throws and UT Permian Basin's Alex Matthews left the door open by missing one of two charity tosses with 16 seconds remaining.

And the Mustangs took advantage with a long 3-pointer by Mason Gibson and Sanders beat the buzzer with a strong drive to the bucket with three seconds remaining to send the game to overtime, tied at 74-74.

Midwestern State didn't allow the Falcons to score a single point in overtime.

Will Shepherd knocked down a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 3:06 remaining in the extra period to give the Mustangs their first lead of the game. Shepherd converted two more free throws with 20 seconds to go, and Sanders put the game away by making 1-of-2 from the charity stripe 14 seconds later.

Shepherd and McDavid joined Sanders in double figures by scoring 17 and 12 points, respectively, while Armstrong booked 23 points to pace the Falcons.

Midwestern State improved to 12-4 on the season and to 7-3 in Lone Star Conference play, while the Falcons slipped to 12-5 and 8-3.

The Mustangs renew the Red River Rivalry Thursday night against Cameron at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
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