SILVER CITY, NEW MEXICO - #19 UT Tyler dropped their second consecutive game and suffered just their second loss of the season on Saturday evening to Western New Mexico.
 
For the second consecutive game, the Patriots shot well below their season average percentage on offense as they made just 32.8% of their attempts and shot 16.7% from beyond the arc.
 
Western New Mexico Got off to a 13-3 lead to kick off the game including a 11-0 run over the first 5:42 of game time. Both teams would then move into a bit of a struggle as just four field goals were made over the next four and a half minutes of action.
 
From the 9:20 mark onwards, the Patriots found their stride on offense, rolling out on a 17-4 run thanks to points from five different players to take a 24-22 lead heading into the break. On that run, Milan Szabo chipped in six points, including his first career three point field goal.
 
The slow start in the half led to a 33.3% shooting percentage for the Patriots in the first half, while the Mustangs shot 40% in the first 20 minutes of the contest.
 
In the beginning of the second half, Szabo and Rashun Williams combined for five points over the first two and a half minutes of action to extend the lead out to 29-22 as #19 UT Tyler looked to pull away with the game.
 
One free throw from the Mustangs at the 16:32 mark of the second half seemed to spark their offense, and they ran out on a 17-5 run to take a 39-34 lead over the Patriots with 8:55 remaining in the game.  Western New Mexico went 6-10 from the field in the run, including 2-3 from deep. The Patriots in the same timeframe went just 2-8 from the field while committing six turnovers.
 
Despite the struggles on offense, the Patriots kept themselves in the contest with timely buckets from Williams and Kyle Frelow, and a pair of free throws from Barnell Davis cut down the lead to just three points with 5:14 to play.
 
A bigtime and-one layup from Szabo with 3:55 remaining cut the lead down to just two points, and he connected yet again on another jumper to cut the lead down to one with 2:47 remaining.
 
That was as close as #19 UT Tyler got in the second half, as Western New Mexico was able to stretch out the final few minutes of the game on a 13-9 run by going 10-12 from the free throw line and making their lone three point attempt to secure a 60-55 victory.
 
Milan Szabo led all scorers with 15 points, and he chipped in five rebounds. Rashun Williams had 14 points on the day and added in three rebounds.
 
Mohamed Diallo stuffed the stat sheet, scoring eight points and adding in nine rebounds, three blocks, and a pair of steals.
 
#19 UT Tyler will now get a prolonged break due to the Christmas holiday and get a chance to reset before taking on Oklahoma Christian on December 30^th on the road in Oklahoma. That game will be followed by a New Year's Day affair with UAFS in Fort Smith, Arkansas.