TYLER, Texas -- UT Tyler gave No. 3-ranked West Texas A&M all it could handle Thursday night, but the Buffaloes held on down the stretch to claim its 17th consecutive win with a 73-62 victory over the Patriots.

The Patriots spent less than a minute with the lead early in the game, but they never let West Texas A&M get comfortable with the lead throughout the rest of the game. Midway through the second half, UT Tyler was within a basket, trailing 48-45, and the Patriots answered a 12-2 run by closing the gap back down to six with just under two minutes to play.

Micah Fuller scored a team-high 20 points, and Ty Glover added 15 points including a pair of high-flying dunks in the first half which electrified the home crowd at the Herrington Patriot Center.

With the loss, UT Tyler fell to 7-17 overall and 4-15 in the Lone Star Conference, while West Texas A&M improved to 26-1 overall and 18-1 in the LSC.

Turning Point: Ty Glover sparked a 14-4 UT Tyler run after West Texas A&M raced to an early 16-5 lead. Glover started with a thunderous dunk while being fouled, completing the and-one to spark the run with 13:55 left in the half. He came up with a steal that led to a Micah Fuller fast-break layup, and the next possession led to a breathtaking putback slam of a long three-point miss, cutting the lead to 18-12 when Glover glided into the lane and elevated to the one-handed putback dunk. He finished another quick fast break when Chris Giles got a steal, making it 18-14, and Giles made a layup on the next possession to cut the lead to 18-16. Glover nailed a three-pointer with 10:56 remaining in the half to answer a pair of WT free throws, cutting the lead to 20-19.

How It Happened: West Texas A&M reeled off a 16-2 run early in the first half to answer Darius Alford's game-opening three-pointer, but UT Tyler rallied behind Ty Glover, who sparked a 14-4 run to slash the lead to 20-19. Glover scored 10 of the Patriots' 14 points during the run, and he scored 13 of his 15 points in the opening half.

The Buffaloes extended the lead out to 13 points with 4:28 left in the first half, but UT Tyler closed the gap to 37-32 with a 9-1 run over the final 2:33 of the half. Micah Fuller sparked the run with a three-point play, and he followed with a three-pointer on the next possession before Glover knocked down 1-of-2 from the line and Xavier Fogle had a putback on the Patriots' final offensive possession to make it a five-point game at halftime.

Fuller opened up the second-half scoring with a layup that cut the lead to 37-34, the first of five times that UT Tyler pulled within three in the first nine minutes after halftime. Fuller worked inside for another driving layup that pulled the Patriots within 48-45 with 11:34 remaining in the game, but West Texas A&M went on a 12-2 run over the next four minutes until Fuller drained a three-pointer to make it 60-50 with 7:26 left.

The Buffaloes took an 11-point lead, 65-54, on a pair of Qua Grant free throws with just over three minutes to play, but the Patriots got back within six, 66-60, when Jared Jenkins converted a three-point play with 1:54 left. Eric Mosley converted a three-point play on the Buffs' next possession, and West Texas A&M was a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line in the final two minutes to seal the 73-62 win.

UT Tyler Standouts: Micah Fuller scored a team-high 20 points, hitting 7-of-15 shots including a pair of three-pointers, and Ty Glover added 15 points along with a team-high 5 rebounds. Darius Alford scored 8 points, and Jared Jenkins added 7 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists to help lead the Patriots.

West Texas A&M Standouts: Qua Grant scored a game-high 25 points, hitting 9-of-17 shots including 4-of-7 three-pointers, and Joel Murray added 20 points with 9 rebounds and a game-high 3 assists.

By The Numbers: West Texas A&M produced a 16-11 edge in points off turnovers and a 17-9 edge in fast break points… The Buffaloes edged UT Tyler in rebounding, 39-35, but the Patriots registered a 30-26 advantage in points in the paint… UT Tyler shot 37 percent (22-for-60) from the field, including a 22 percent (4-for-18) clip from three-point range, while West Texas A&M shot 41 percent (23-for-56) overall and 33 percent (8-for-24) on three-pointers… Micah Fuller's 20-point effort was his fourth game scoring at least 20 points this season.

What's Next: UT Tyler hosts Eastern New Mexico in the final home game of the 2019-20 season on Saturday, Feb. 22, at 4 p.m. The Patriots wrap up the season with road games at UAFS (Feb. 27) and Oklahoma Christian (Feb. 29).