TYLER, TEXAS – The UT Tyler men's basketball team will close out their regular season home schedule this weekend with games against St. Mary's and St. Edward's on Thursday and Saturday.
 
The Patriots final two home contests will come on the heels of a three-game winning streak, a streak that has extended the squad's overall record to 14-6 on the year. Saturday's game will serve as the annual Senior Day for the program, in which five seniors (Eysan Wiley, Zaire Mateen, Soloman Thomas, Da'Zhon Wyche and Micah Fuller) will be honored for their Patriot careers prior to tip-off.
 
Thursday's contest will get started at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday's action at 4 p.m.
 
AS GRITTY AS IT COMES
 
UT Tyler picked up what can only be described as a gritty victory in their last action on Thursday, Feb. 10 in a 70-67 victory over Texas A&M-Commerce. The Patriots played just eight players in the contest, five of which recorded 30 minutes or more in the contest while taking down a Texas A&M-Commerce squad ranked third in the D2SIDA South Central Regional rankings.
 
Senior Soloman Thomas led four scorers in double-digit scoring figures with 17 points, as UT Tyler came back from a 45-39 deficit at the halftime break to secure a signature in-region win. The Patriots limited Texas A&M-Commerce to just 22 second-half points, and held the Lions without a made field goal for over 10 minutes in that second half, to effectively shutdown one of the LSC's best offensive units.
 
Senior Micah Fuller had 16 points while Da'Zhon Wyche and Milan Szabo each had 13 and 10, respectively. UT Tyler allowed just five made field goals by the Lions in the second half and outrebounded their opposition by a 38-to-31 final margin.
 
A SIGNATURE WIN ON THE RESUME
 
That win over Texas A&M-Commerce last Thursday extended the Patriot win streak to three straight, and provided UT Tyler a signature in-region victory that they desperately needed for their resume. Texas A&M-Commerce entered the evening ranked third in the South Central Region according to the D2SIDA South Central Region rankings, and sits 16-5 on the year following the loss to Patriots.
 
The game was not considered a Lone Star Conference game, but will still hold major implications with both teams in serious consideration for potential South Central Region Tournament berths.
 
PATRIOTS RISING IN THE RANKINGS
 
UT Tyler rose three spots to the no. 4 spot in this week's edition of the D2SIDA South Central Region rankings, their highest ranking since the week five edition of the poll back on Dec. 13. The Patriots have now appeared in 10 straight weeks of the poll, and rose to as high as no. 3 back in that Dec. 13^th edition of the poll.
 
This week's poll showcased the separation that is evident between the strengths of the two conferences that make up the South Central Region, as the Lone Star Conference is represented by each of the top four slots, including the unanimous no. 1-no. 3 selections in Lubbock Christian, West Texas A&M and Texas A&M-Commerce. The Patriots win over Texas A&M-Commerce padded their already impressive resume enough to slide up to the no. 4 spot, while Fort Lewis (no. 5), Regis (no. 6), Colorado Mesa (tie for no. 7) and Black Hills State (tie for no. 7) round out the rest of the top eight.
 
 Those top eight slots are increasingly important this week as the first of three editions of the official NCAA South Central Regional rankings are set to be announced by the regional advisory committee on Thursday afternoon. The highest six ranked teams in the final edition of the regional rankings set to be released on Mar. 6^th, not including the two automatic qualifiers, will earn an at-large bid into the South Central Regional Tournament field.
 
SENIOR SPOTLIGHT
 
The UT Tyler men's basketball team will recognize five seniors prior to Saturday's tip off against St. Edward's. Eysan Wiley, Zaire Mateen, Soloman Thomas, Da'Zhon Wyche and Micah Fuller and their families will be honored prior to tip for their contributions to the UT Tyler men's basketball program.
 
SCOUTING AND HISTORY WITH ST. MARY'S
 
St. Mary's enters Thursday night's game with UT Tyler with an 11-10 overall record, and sits fourth in the LSC with a league record of 8-4. The Rattlers have lost three out of their last four after stringing together seven straight wins prior to those four outings.
 
Balance has been the name of the game for St. Mary's all season long, as their lineup features five different scorers that average between 10.9 and 11.5 points a game. Tyler Caron leads that group with an average of 11.5 points per contest.
 
The Rattlers average 75.4 points a game against LSC foes, but surrender 74.6 points a game on the defensive side of the ball.
 
UT Tyler and St. Mary's have split the all-time series 1-1, with the away team recording the victory in each of the games. UT Tyler won the most recent match-up in the series back on Feb. 22, 2021 by a 60-46 margin in San Antonio.
 
SCOUTING AND HISTORY WITH ST. EDWARD'S
 
The Hilltoppers will enter Thursday night's contest at Texas A&M-Commerce with a 13-11 overall record on the year, and a 7-7 mark in Lone Star Conference play. The Hilltoppers have won three out of their last four games, including road wins over Texas A&M-Kingsville and Texas A&M International on Feb. 3^rd and 5^th.

St. Edward's is led in scoring by Daniel Venzant, who ranks third in the LSC with an average of 17.2 points per game. Dibiamaka, Uche, who averages 16.0 points a game and has gone for 20 or more points on six different occasions, has teamed up with Venzant to provide one of the better scoring duos in the LSC this season. Logan Cook averages the second most rebounds per game in the LSC with an average of 8.1 a contest.
 
The Hilltoppers rank fourth on the year in scoring offense (77.9 ppg), and 11^th in scoring defense (73.3 ppg), and have the third best assist/turnover ratio in the LSC (+1.24).
 
Saturday's meeting will be the fourth between the two programs, with St. Edward's claiming the victory in each of the first three contests. The Senior Day match-up will be the third of the series in Tyler, the most recent of which occurring back on Jan. 9^th of last year, an 85-80 victory for St. Edward's.