WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- The UT Tyler men's basketball team nearly posted back-to-back road wins over Lone Star Conference divisional opponents, but Midwestern State rallied in the second half to hand the Patriots a 68-65 defeat on Saturday.

The Mustangs erased a 7-point UT Tyler lead with 12 minutes to go with a 21-4 run over a 10-minute stretch, and the Patriots' 10-point outburst in the final two minutes fell just short as MSU held on for the 3-point win.

Ty Glover and Darius Alford led all scorers with 20 points each in the defeat, as Glover scored 16 of his 20 points in the opening half to help lead the Patriots to a 40-37 halftime advantage.

With the loss, UT Tyler fell to 7-16 overall, 4-14 in the Lone Star Conference, and 2-6 within the division. Midwestern State improved to 5-19 overall, 5-13 in the LSC, and 3-5 within the division.

Turning Point: Ansu Sesay's short jumper in the paint with 12:15 remaining in the game gave UT Tyler a 51-44 lead. However, the Patriots went scoreless over the next six minutes, and Midwestern State took advantage, scoring 14 straight points to flip the UT Tyler lead into a 7-point deficit. The Mustangs led by at least 5 points until Darius Alford hit a three-pointer in the closing seconds of the game to cut the final margin to 68-65.

How It Happened: UT Tyler made its first seven shots of the game to race out to an early 17-9 lead, and the Patriots maintained an advantage throughout the first half to take a 40-37 lead into halftime. A Ty Glover three-point play with 2:43 left gave UT Tyler an 8-point edge, 37-29, for its largest lead of the game.

The Patriots maintained the lead throughout the first 10 minutes of the second half, as well, taking a 45-37 lead with 17:40 remaining in the game on a Jared Jenkins jumper. The Patriots still led by 7 points (51-44) on Sesay's bucket with 12:15 to play, but it took more than 10 minutes for UT Tyler to make another field goal while Midwestern State reeled off a 21-4 run to take control of the contest. All of the Patriots' points during the run came from the free throw line until Sesay ended the drought with a layup with 1:45 to play. That cut the margin to 65-57, and he dropped in another layup to spark an 8-1 run in the final minute.

UT Tyler Standouts: Ty Glover notched his eighth 20-point game of the season with exactly 20 points, and Darius Alford matched Glover's game-high with 20 points for his second consecutive 20-point performance (and third in the past six games). Glover hit 8-of-17 from the field, including 3-of-6 three-pointers, while Alford sank 7-of-13 from the field including 4-of-7 three-pointers. Ansy Sesay added 12 points, his season-high, and Micah Fuller also reached double figures with 10 points, 6 rebounds, and a team-high 4 assists.

Midwestern State Standouts: The Mustangs finished with four players in double figures, led by D'monta Harris' 16-point effort. Harris made 4-of-8 three-pointers, and Elijah Lee and Darius Thompson each hit a pair of threes in 13-point performances. Trae Jones scored 10 points while knocking down 3-of-8 three-pointers.

By The Numbers: UT Tyler kept its turnovers near its season-low for the second straight game, giving away just 10 turnovers while Midwestern State committed 15…The Patriots also generated a 31-27 rebounding margin, but the Mustangs shot 55 percent (26-for-47) overall and 46 percent (12-for-26) from three-point range… MSU also converted turnovers into points with a 20-7 margin in points off turnovers… UT Tyler posted an 11-2 edge in second chance points… The Patriots shot 42 percent (25-for-59) overall and 36 percent (8-for-22) on three-pointers… The teams shot a combined 18 free throws in the game, the lowest combined total in a game this year for both teams.

What's Next: UT Tyler returns home for its final home games of the 2019-20 season, hosting West Texas A&M (Feb. 20) and Eastern New Mexico (Feb. 22) before finishing the season on the road in the final week of the season.