WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- UT Tyler bounced back from a Friday road defeat with its best performance of the season as the Patriots collected their first Lone Star Conference victory of the year in a 92-66 win Saturday night.

Da'Zhon Wyche scored 19 of his 23 points in the first half to help spark UT Tyler to a 44-30 halftime lead, and Darius Alford matched Wyche with a game-high 23 points, including 19 after halftime, as the pair combined to make 9 three-pointers to lead the Patriots to victory. UT Tyler's 92-point effort marked the program's highest scoring total in a Lone Star Conference contest in the Patriots' second season of LSC membership.

With the win, UT Tyler improves to 2-7 overall and 1-7 in Lone Star Conference play, while Midwestern State falls to 7-2 overall and 6-2 in the LSC.

Quotable (head coach Louis Wilson): "I am very happy for these guys. We are not going to always be as good as we played tonight, but we are certainly better than our record would indicate. Our players have struggled throughout the season handling the ball cleanly and defending at a high level, and we have also not hit as many open shots as we would like; tonight, we were great in all three of those areas. The players have played better than I have coached, and our struggles have been collective. What I appreciate is that every day we keep getting up and focusing on getting better. It's not easy to do that when you are not getting wins to validate your efforts, but I do appreciate how my guys have honored our process. We now have something to build on; if we take care of the ball, defend, and take great shots, we will have a chance every night."

Turning Point: Da'Zhon Wyche drilled three consecutive three-pointers in a span of 74 seconds midway through the first half, breaking ties at 13-13 and 16-16 to spark UT Tyler to a 22-6 run. That gave the Patriots a 33-19 lead with 7:05 remaining in the first half. Midwestern State chipped 8 points off the lead, pulling within 6, 36-30, but a Wyche jumper in the paint set off an 8-0 run over the final 2:10 of the half to restore the halftime margin to 14 points, 44-30. The Patriots led by double digits the rest of the way.

How It Happened: Midwestern State scored first and did not trail the Patriots during the first seven minutes of the contest. However, Roché Grootfaam and Chris Giles scored back-to-back baskets that tied the game at 11, and a Milan Szabo putback with 12:40 left answered a pair of Jalin Brown free throws to tie the game at 13-13. That's when Da'Zhon Wyche caught fire from beyond the arc, drilling three-pointers on three consecutive possessions to spark a 22-6 run over a stretch of 5:35 which gave UT Tyler a 33-19 lead with 7:05 remaining in the half.

The Patriots took a 44-30 lead into halftime, and Darius Alford opened the second half with back-to-back three-pointers, extending an 8-0 run at the end of the half into a 14-1 margin to give UT Tyler a 50-31 lead early in the second half. Midwestern State cut the margin to 12 points twice in the next four minutes, but Alford nailed another three to spark an 11-0 run to extend the lead to 68-45 with 11:13 left.

When the Mustangs cut the lead to 17 points at 74-58 with 6:28 to play, UT Tyler responded with a 15-0 run, taking its largest lead of the contest at 89-58 with just over three minutes remaining.

UT Tyler Standouts: Da'Zhon Wyche scored a season-high 23 points, hitting 5 first-half three-pointers in a 19-point first half, and Darius Alford also registered a season-high with 23 points to lead the Patriots to the win. UT Tyler finished with five players in double figures, as Emanuel Gant scored 14 points with 9 rebounds while Micah Fuller scored 11 points with 5 assists and Milan Szabo added 11 points and 8 rebounds.

Midwestern State Standouts: Terrell Wilson scored 22 points to lead the Mustangs, but he was the only player in double figures for Midwestern State. Derrick Ogechi and Luke Hamilton scored 9 points each, and Jermane Carter added 7 points and 9 rebounds.

By The Numbers: Da'Zhon Wyche posted his second 20-point game of the season with a new season-high for the second time in as many weeks after he scored 21 last week on the road at St. Edward's… The 23-point effort for Darius Alford was the 16th time Alford has surpassed 20 points in his career… Alford didn't miss a shot in the second half, going 7-for-7 from the field including four from beyond the three-point arc, plus a free throw… UT Tyler shot 48 percent (29-for-61) overall and 39 percent (10-for-26) on three-pointers, while Midwestern State shot 36 percent (19-for-53) overall and 35 percent (13-for-37) from long range… Midwestern State committed 22 turnovers while UT Tyler only had half that amount (11), leading to a 25-8 edge in points off turnovers… The Patriots also produced a 32-10 advantage in points in the paint.

What's Next: UT Tyler is back on the road for another two-game Lone Star Conference weekend series next week, as the Patriots return to action with a visit to Texas A&M-Commerce (Jan. 22-23).