COMMERCE, Texas -- UT Tyler led for over 30 minutes of Friday's visit to Texas A&M-Commerce, but the host Lions rallied from an 11-point halftime deficit for a 79-75 come-from-behind win over the Patriots Friday night.

Milan Szabo scored 16 of his team-high 18 points in the opening half to help UT Tyler lead by as many as 15 while taking a 42-31 halftime lead, but he was limited to just 2 points after halftime. The Patriots had three others reach double figures, as Micah Fuller scored 15 points while Soloman Thomas added 13 and Emanuel Gant scored 12.

With the loss, UT Tyler drops to 2-8 overall and 1-8 in Lone Star Conference play, while Texas A&M-Commerce improves to 4-3 overall, 3-2 LSC.

Turning Point: UT Tyler held a 71-67 lead with 5:34 remaining, but Dante Adams answered with a three-pointer to help Texas A&M-Commerce score 12 of the next 13 points over the final 5:14. Three of the next four Patriot possessions resulted in turnovers, and a Demonia free throw with 4:39 left tied the game at 71-71. Demonia's dunk with 2:07 left broke the tie, and after a Gant free throw with 1:49 remaining, UT Tyler didn't score again until the Lions extended the lead to seven 79-72, in the closing seconds of the contest.

How It Happened: Milan Szabo made his first seven shots from the field as he battled inside for quality scoring looks and converted his chances into 16 points in the first half. His seventh consecutive make capped a 17-6 run which gave UT Tyler a 40-25 lead, its largest lead of the game, with 2:14 remaining in the first half. Texas A&M-Commerce responded with six straight points before Micah Fuller made a pair of free throws in the closing seconds of the half to give the Patriots a 42-31 halftime advantage.

A Soloman Thomas pull-up jumper with 16:11 left pushed the lead back to 15, 48-33, but the Lions slashed the margin down to 5 with a 13-3 run over a three-minute stretch. It was a single-digit margin the rest of the way, as Donald Ghostone and Demarcus Demonia answered a Darius Alford trey all 9 points of a 9-0 run which tied the game at 60-60 with 9:46 remaining.

Micah Fuller knocked down a three-pointer to break the tie, and the Patriots maintained the lead for the next five minutes until a Demonia free throw tied the game at 71-71 with 4:39 left. Both teams went scoreless for the next two minutes, and Demonia finally broke the tie when he threw down a lob from Devin Bethely to give the Lions a 73-71 lead with 2:07 to play. Emanuel Gant made 1-of-2 free throws on the ensuing UT Tyler possession, but Dante Adams scored on a pull-up jumper just outside the paint, and the Patriots missed shots on each of its final three possessions before Darius Alford hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to trim the final margin to 79-75.

UT Tyler Standouts: Milan Szabo scored a season-high 18 points, hitting 8-of-9 from the field including his first 7 consecutive field goal attempts. Szabo had 16 at halftime, and Micah Fuller was the Patriots' leading second-half scorer with 10 of his 15 points after halftime. Fuller went 7-for-7 from the free throw line, and he also collected a team-high 9 rebounds. Soloman Thomas came off the bench for 13 points, and Emanuel Gant added 12 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assist, and 2 steals.

Texas A&M-Commerce Standouts: Demarcus Demonia finished with a game-high 21 points, including 13 in the second half to lead the Lions' comeback. Augustine Ene added 19 points, hitting 5-of-9 three-pointers, and Donald Ghostone came off the bench to score 15 points. Devin Bethely scored 11 points with a game-high 8 assists, and Dante Adams recorded 11 points with a team-high 7 rebounds.

By The Numbers: UT Tyler's 11-point halftime lead represented the Patriots' second consecutive game with a double-digit advantage at the half… The Patriots posted a 39-27 rebounding margin, including 13 offensive rebounds for its third consecutive game with double-digit offensive boards… That led to a 12-2 edge for UT Tyler in second chance points… UT Tyler shot 47 percent (27-for-56) overall, including a 55 percent (16-for-29) clip in the first half… The Patriots shot 35 percent (7-for-20) from three-point range and 74 percent (14-for-19) from the free throw line… Texas A&M-Commerce shot 48 percent (28-for-58) from the field, including a 26 percent (7-for-27) clip from three-point distance and 64 percent (16-for-25) on free throws… The Lions' second half mirrored UT Tyler's scorching first half, as Texas A&M-Commerce overcame a 39 percent (11-for-28) first-half shooting performance by hitting 57 percent (17-for-30) from the field in the second half.

What's Next: UT Tyler meets up with Texas A&M-Commerce again Saturday night at 5:30 p.m. before returning home to take on St. Mary's for a 2 p.m. afternoon matchup on Wednesday, Jan. 27.