TYLER – The UT Tyler men’s basketball squad dropped a hard-fought contest against visiting Centenary, 85-81, on Saturday afternoon at the Herrington Patriot Center thanks in part to a 49-19 differential in free throws attempted.

The loss drops the Patriots to 5-12 on the season. The Gents move to 8-7.

The Patriots held the lead, 39-31, at intermission, but hot shooting led by Centenary’s JaCo Hardin-Crawford in the first five minutes of the second half put UT Tyler down, 55-53.

The second half went back and forth all the way until the final buzzer, where the Gents sealed the victory. Centenary took 26 free throws in the second half to just nine for the Patriots who were tagged for 19 fouls in the second frame.  

With the Patriots down 82-75 with less than 30-seconds remaining, Larry Carpenter nailed a three-pointer to bring the score to 82-78. After a Gents turnover and a timeout, the Patriots once again hit a shot from beyond the arc, this one courtesy of Darren Houliston, to narrow the score to 82-81 with 9-second left. 

After a foul and two made free throws from Centenary, Carpenter drove down court and tried to get one more three pointer off, but it was unsuccessful as the ball was stripped and Centenary regained possession. The gents drew a foul and made the free throws, giving the game its final margin at 85-81.

The leading scorer for the Patriots was Houliston with 20 points. He also registered five rebounds and shot 70-percent from the foul line. Brandon LeVine contributed 18 points and six rebounds while Carpenter recorded 19 points.

UT Tyler will return to the court again on Thursday night when they host Louisiana College at 7:30 pm in the Herrington Patriot Center.