TYLER, TEXAS – The University of Texas at Tyler men's basketball team extended their win streak to five games on Monday afternoon with a 60-46 win over St. Mary's.
 
The Patriots forced 20 or more turnovers for the fifth consecutive contest and turned those turnovers into 28 points on an afternoon in which defensive pressure and offensive efficiency was the name of the game for UT Tyler. The 46 points totaled for St. Mary's is the lowest point total any opponent has recorded against UT Tyler all season long.
 
The win moves the Patriots into third place in the South Division standings of the Lone Star Conference with a record of 1-2 in divisional play on the year, and moves the squad's overall record to 7-9, just one win shy of a Division II record for the team in the program's final year of the Division II transition period.
 
UT Tyler led for over 28 minutes of the contest and held the Rattlers to just eight field goals in the second half to pull away for the convincing road win. The Patriots on the other hand shot 44.4 percent (24-of-54) from the field for the game and scored 38 of their 60 points in the paint. UT Tyler needed just two three-point baskets to get the better of St. Mary's as they continued to find ways to work the ball inside and get high-percentage looks throughout the contest.
 
How it Happened: Neither team found a substantial early advantage as the score remained all square at 13-13 at the midway point of the opening half. UT Tyler pieced together a five-point run over the next four minutes of action while preventing St. Mary's from scoring a single point over that timeframe to build an 18-13 lead with 6:35 remaining on the clock.
 
Two free throws from Da'Zhon Wyche would extend that advantage by UT Tyler up to nine points at 25-16 with just over three minutes to play. St. Mary's narrowed the deficit to five with just over a minute left in the half before two more free throws and a lay-up from Soloman Thomas extended the lead back out once again to nine points. St. Mary's made a lay-up and forced an and-one opportunity as the Patriots fouled Miles Mcdougal during the attempt to allow the halftime lead to stand at 29-23.
 
St. Mary's tied the game for the final time at 33-33 with 14:54 remaining on the clock as the Patriot defensive pressure once again overwhelmed the opposition in the late stages of the second half. Roche Grootfaam scored 10 points over the last 14 minutes of action to finish with 10 points and seven rebounds in the second half alone.
 
A five-point lead at 43-38 for the Patriots was quickly doubled as Wyche hit a three pointer and a made a lay-up less than a minute apart to establish the first double-digit lead for the Patriots of the afternoon with 6:36 left on the clock. UT Tyler never let the Rattlers get back within seven points after a three-point make from Mcdougal following the stretch of five points from Wyche just a few moments later.
 
The Patriots held St. Mary's to just a single basket in the final three minutes of the contest and led by as many as 16 with just over a minute remaining thanks to four straight unanswered layups from Grootfaam, Jalen Davis and Darius Alford.
 
A Look at the Numbers: St. Mary's made just 15 field goals throughout the entire contest, going 15-for-50 (30.0 percent) for the game… UT Tyler on the other hand had an efficient day offensively, shooting 44.4 percent (24-of-54) from the field… The Patriots won the rebounding battle 34-to-33 and had 11 second-chance points for the afternoon… UT Tyler scored 38 of it's 60 points in the paint and had 14 layups made… UT Tyler totaled 15 steals for the afternoon.
 
Patriot Standouts: Wyche led all scorers for the afternoon with 14 points and added four rebounds and three steals to his effort… Grootfaam scored 12 points for the game, going 4-for-7 from the field and 4-of-5 from the free throw line… He also led the squad with eight rebounds for the contest… Four different Patriots recorded multiple steals as Jalen Davis led the way with four and Wyche and Darius Alford each had three.
 
Up Next: UT Tyler will return home on Wednesday night for a match-up with #12 Texas A&M-Kingsville, who enters the contest with a record of 13-1 and has won 11 straight entering the week.