TYLER, TEXAS – The University of Texas at Tyler men's basketball program will head to Commerce, Texas to partake in the 2021 Lion Hoopsgiving presented by Best Western Plus this weekend.
 
The Patriots will compete in two games as part of the event, squaring off with Ouachita Baptist on Friday night at 6 p.m. and Mississippi College on Saturday afternoon at 12 p.m. UT Tyler is 3-0 on the year, defending home court last week with three straight wins to open up the 2021-22 season.
 
UNBEATEN AND UNCONTESTED
 
The UT Tyler men's basketball team got the 2021-22 campaign underway last week with three wins on their home floor. The Patriots opened up the season with a 116-57 victory over Southwestern Adventist on Wednesday night, took down Division II opponent Fort Valley State by an 84-60 final on Friday night, and then finished off the week with a 100-47 win over Dallas Christian on Sunday afternoon.
 
UT Tyler eclipsed the 100-point threshold in two out of their three games and defeated their opposition by an average of 45.3 points in week one of the 2021-22 season. Eysan Wiley (12.3) Zaire Mateen (12.3), Soloman Thomas (12.0) and Micah Fuller (11.3) all averaged double-digit scoring figures while four different Patriots grabbed four or more rebounds per contest as UT Tyler held a +18 advantage in the rebounding margin as a unit for the three games.
 
The Patriots shot 54.9 percent (106-193) from the field for the week, and were particularly impressive with a 46.8 percent (36-of-77) mark from behind the three-point line. Thomas led the Patriots with eight three-point makes in the three games, going 8-for-18 from long range for the week.
 
CONTRIBUTIONS FROM INDIVIDUALS WE KNOW...
 
Some returning faces got their 2021-22 season started in fine form last week for UT Tyler, including the backcourt trio of Fuller, Thomas and Da'Zhon Wyche. All three guards displayed their scoring prowess at different times throughout the week, and connected on 17-of-41 combined three-point shots between the three games.
 
Fuller registered 10 or more points in each of the three contests, while Thomas dropped 18 and 11 in the wins against Southwestern Adventist and Dallas Christian. Wyche had his best scoring outputs in the latter two victories for the Patriots with 12 points against Fort Valley State and 10 against Dallas Christian.
 
Forward Milan Szabo started all three contests for UT Tyler last week and led the squad with 19 total rebounds for the week, nine of which were on the offensive end of the court for the Patriots. He hauled in eight boards in the Southwestern Adventist game on Wednesday night and nine rebounds in the win over Fort Valley State.
 
Junior Jalen Davis also showed marked improvement in the first three games of 2021-22, averaging 14.1 minutes a game while totaling 22 points between the three appearances.
 
AND IMPACT FROM INDIVIDUALS WE WILL KNOW SOON
 
As solid as the returning core of Patriots from the 2020-21 roster was last week, the eye-opening statistical numbers produced by head coach Louis Wilson's team can be heavily attributed to a multitude of skilled newcomers that saw action in a Patriot uniform for the first time last week. Wiley and Mateen both led the team in scoring between the three games with an average of 12.3 points per contest as Mateen dropped 11 in both games against Southwestern Adventist and Fort Valley State, and 15 against Dallas Christian.
 
Wiley opened up his season with a 20-point effort over Southwestern Adventist, and then scored eight points in just 14 minutes against Fort Valley State and nine points in 11 minutes against Dallas Christian on Sunday afternoon.
 
The impact felt by newcomers for the Patriots extended far beyond the offensive box score, as transfers Paul Djoko and Patrick Samoura immediately brought a whole new level of defensive versatility to the roster for UT Tyler. Djoko averaged 7.3 points, 4.0 assists, 4.7 rebounds and a pair of steals in the three contests while Samoura immediately displayed a defensive skillset that will be put to great use in coach Wilson's system.
 
Throw in the impact of a 6-10 frame of Finn Fleute to the paint and the newcomers for UT Tyler will undoubtedly provide mismatch problems across the Lone Star Conference this season.
 
STATISTICALLY DOMINANT
 
UT Tyler will take some impressive statistical metrics with them to the Lion Hoopsgiving this weekend in Commerce, Texas as the Patriots currently lead the LSC in scoring offense with an average of 100.0 points per game, and rank second in scoring defense with an average of just 54.7 points allowed per contest. The Patriots hold an impressive 45.3 scoring margin, bettering second-place Western New Mexico in the category by over 20 points a game, and also boast the best shooting percentage from the field in the LSC with a 54.9 percent (106-of-193) mark through the three games.
 
Ouachita Baptist and Mississippi College will provide a whole other level of tests for the Patriots this weekend, but the numbers would paint the picture that UT Tyler has all the pieces needed to be a top team in 2021-22.
 
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
 
Friday night's opponent Ouachita Baptist is 1-2 so far in 2021-22, with losses in their opening weekend against St. Cloud State and Minot State and a win against Ecclesia on Friday night. The Tigers posted a 5-12 record in the abbreviated 2020-21 season, finishing with a mark of 4-10 in Great American Conference play.
 
Four Tigers average double-digit scoring figures, led by Jacob Street, who is averaging 12.3 a contest. Sophomore Tylar Haynes leads Ouachita Baptist with an average of 5.7 rebounds.
 
Ouachita Baptist averages 69.7 points a game and has conceded 76.7 points per contest.
 
Friday night's meeting will be the first game in the history of the two program's.
 
SCOUTING THE CHOCTAWS
 
Mississippi College will enter this weekend's tournament riding a two-game winning streak with victories over Millsaps and LSU-Shrevepot in their previous two outing. The Choctaws are 2-1 on the year after a 78-51 loss to Lynn University in the season opener on Nov. 17^th.
 
The Choctaws went 2-6 in the abbreviated 2020-21 season, all of those games coming in Gulf South Conference play.
 
Lamont Berzat (12.0) and Tradavis Thompson (11.0) have both averaged north of 10 points a game in three contests so far for the Choctaws. Galen Smith leads the team with an average of 5.0 points a game.
 
Mississippi College has limited teams to just 68.0 points a game in 2021-22, and have posted 67.0 a game themselves.
 
Mississippi College and UT Tyler have met 22 times prior to this weekend's game, with Mississippi College holding the series advantage at 15-7. UT Tyler has won six out of the last 10 meetings, including each of the past two games between the two teams in the 2013-14 season.