LAWTON, Okla. -- UT Tyler led for all but two minutes of Sunday's visit to Cameron, as the Patriots opened the two-game series against the Aggies with a 76-66 victory.

Soloman Thomas led all scorers with 16 points, and all 9 Patriots who played in the game finished with at least 4 points in a balanced scoring effort. More importantly, UT Tyler committed a season-low 10 turnovers while forcing 22 from Cameron, leading to a 20-5 difference in points off turnovers.

With the win, UT Tyler improves to 3-9 overall and 2-9 in Lone Star Conference play, while Cameron falls to 1-11 overall (1-11 LSC).

Turning Point: Although the Patriots led for nearly 38 minutes of the 40-minute contest, Cameron spent most of the game within reach and even pulled within 3 points, 68-65, when Kino Thompson sank a pair of free throws with 3:06 left. However, UT Tyler immediately answered with a Milan Szabo layup, extending the lead to 70-65, and the Patriots finished the game on a 8-1 run by holding the Aggies without a field goal over the final three minutes of the contest.

Quotable (head coach Louis Wilson): "Any road win is a good win, and quite frankly, any win we are able to get right now is a good win. We are not painting pictures, so what it looks like is less important than the fact that we got it done. Our bench played very well in the first half today, and our team defended much better overall in the second half. I'm happy for these guys, because they have been working very hard with little in the win column to show for it. The challenge is bouncing back and staying hungry tomorrow even though we ate a little bit today; our ability to do that would be a big step for us. It's going to be challenging because every game in this conference is a big challenge."

How It Happened: Soloman Thomas and Darius Alford jump-started a 13-3 run in the opening minutes of the first half to erase an early 5-4 deficit, and the Patriots led by as many as 12 points in the opening half before Cameron cut the halftime margin to 46-40.

Darius Alford and Jalen Davis each scored 8 points in the first half to lead UT Tyler offensively, and Micah Fuller and Soloman Thomas combined for 19 second-half points to lead the Patriots after the break.

Cameron kept UT Tyler's lead in single digits for the entire second half, and the Aggies pulled within a single point, 51-50, with 15:34 to go. They were within 2 points twice more in the second half, and Cameron made it a one-possession game with 3:06 left when Kino Thompson made a pair of free throws to cut the UT Tyler lead to 68-65. The Patriots finished the game on an 8-1 run to put the game away.

UT Tyler Standouts: Soloman Thomas led a balanced scoring effort as all 9 Patriots who played in the game finished with at least 4 points while 6 of them scored 8 points or more. Micah Fuller finished with 10 points and a team-high 3 assists, while Emanuel Gant tallied 9 points and a game-high 8 rebounds. Darius Alford, Da'Zhon Wyche, and Jalen Davis each scored 8 points, and Wyche gathered a game-high 4 of the Patriots' 9 steals.

Cameron Standouts: Brock Schreiner was the Aggies' lone double-digit scorer, finishing with 12 points on 3-of-8 shooting from the field. Hunter Quick collected a team-high 8 rebounds and scored 6, and Marques Warrior registered 9 points with a game-high 5 assists.

By The Numbers: UT Tyler's 10 turnovers marked its lowest turnover total in a game this year and allowed the Patriots to post a 20-5 edge in points off turnovers… The Patriots also held a 16-4 edge in fast break scoring and a 29-23 margin in bench scoring… In the first half, UT Tyler shot 53 percent (17-for-32) from the field before finishing the game at 46 percent (25-for-54)… Cameron shot 43 percent (20-for-46) overall… After hitting 7-of-13 first-half three-pointers, Cameron missed all 5 of its second-half threes to finish at 39 percent (7-for-18) from three-point range.

What's Next: UT Tyler completes the two-game road series at Cameron on Monday, Feb. 8, with a 4:00 p.m. matchup. The Patriots return home next Friday and Saturday (Feb. 12-13) for a two-game weekend series against the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith (UAFS).