TYLER, Texas - The UT Tyler Men's Basketball team closed out their weekend home stand on Saturday with a matchup against Howard Payne on Saturday. The Patriots fell in 75-87 in overtime, moving their overall record to 6-7. 

The Patriots opened the game with a 19-6 run that spanned the first five minutes of play on Saturday. UT Tyler would dominate play through the first 17 minutes as the Patriots opened a 49-31 lead with just 2:47 remaining in the first half. A late push from the Yellow Jackets cut the lead to 10 as the final buzzer sounded. After 20 minutes of play, UT Tyler would lead 51-41. 

HPU would bring the game within six points in the first two minutes of play in the second half before the Patriots pushed their lead back to 10 points with 13:28 remaining. UT Tyler would hold a five-point lead or better over the next eight minutes of play. HPU would even the game at 68 with 3:20 remaining in regulation. The teams traded buckets for the final two minutes with neither team scoring a bucket in the final minute of play. A jumper from Darius Alford gave the Patriots a 72-70 lead before a HPU basket with 1:02 remaining evened the game at 72. 

When the final buzzer sounded, the teams were deadlocked at 72, forcing an overtime period. The overtime period saw HPU go on a 15-3 run that allowed them to take the 87-75 win. 

BY THE NUMBERS:
The Patriots connected on five three's and 16 shots from the stripe. UT Tyler would record 38 points in the paint, scoring 14 points off of turnovers. The bench contributed 22 points while UT Tyler scored 18 second chance points. 

UT TYLER LEADERS:
Chris Craig recorded his second straight double-double, scoring 13 points, hauling in 10 boards. Darius Alford recorded a team-high 23 points while grabbing six rebounds, forcing six steals.