Tyler, Tex.—University of Texas at Tyler Men's Basketball (8-17) dropped their final contest of the regular season, 79-77, on Saturday afternoon to Louisiana College (19-6) in the Patriot Center. The game marks the end of the regular season for the Patriots.
 
Through the first media timeout, junior guard Jared Jenkins (Irving, Texas) lead the Patriots with five points in the opening six minutes of action. After the Wildcats grabbed an early eight-point lead, Jenkins and freshman forward Bryson Power (Fort Worth, Texas) helped UT Tyler cut the lead down to four at the second media timeout, 25-21. Power came off the bench and scored five points in three minutes including a three from the corner.
 
In the second half of the period, the Patriots continued to cut their deficit by knocking down shot-after-shot. With 14:03 remaining in the half, UT Tyler was shooting 40% from the field. By the end of the half, they raised that percentage to 51.5% on 17-33 shooting from the field which included seven three pointers.
 
The shooting performance sent the Patriots into the halftime intermission with a 42-37 lead. Helping the team to regain the lead was sophomore guard Lense Ramey (Kiefer, Oklahoma) who drained a pair from deep in the final four minutes of the half.
 
To start the second half, junior forward Omar Mohamed (Denton, Texas) the first six Patriot points to keep the game close with LC cutting the lead to a pair at the first media break. Mohamed and the rest of the team had their way in the paint throughout most of the contest and specifically in the second half. At the half, UT Tyler held a 14-8 advantage in points in the paint. With eight minutes remaining in the game, the Patriots had increased their total points in the paint to 26 while holding the Wildcats to 10.
 
Each team traded buckets the rest of the way with neither team able to grab an advantage until late. Down the stretch, Louisiana College won the game at the free throw line going 19-26 in the second half. After knocking down free throws late, the Wildcats held on for a 79-77 victory.
 
Mohamed went on to lead six Patriots in double figures with 14 points. Ramsey ended the game with 12 points while three others added 10 points each. After shooting 17-33 in the opening half, UT Tyler went on to shoot 44.6% from the field for the game on 25-56 shooting.
 
One senior was honored prior to the start of the game in Cam Frank. After serving as a starter during his junior season, Frank suffered an injury and has been a Student Assistant for the coaching staff in 2018-19. The game also marked the end of the regular season for UT Tyler who are not eligible for postseason during the NCAA Division II transition process.