TYLER, TEXAS – The UT Tyler men's basketball team had their four-game winning streak snapped on Saturday afternoon in an 81-60 defeat at the hands of St. Edward's.
 
The Patriots honored five seniors in Eysan Wiley, Zaire Mateen, Soloman Thomas, Da'Zhon Wyche and Micah Fuller as part of their annual Senior Day celebration prior to tip-off, but couldn't overcome 10 made three-pointers by the Hilltoppers once action began. St. Edward's led 12-2 within the first five minutes of the ballgame, and never looked back, maintaining a double-digit lead from the 14:12 mark of the first half and on to end the UT Tyler four-game win streak.
 
Senior Zaire Mateen led the Patriots with 11 points on a 4-for-8 night from the field in his final regular season opener outing for UT Tyler. Freshman Kyle Frelow was the other Patriot to reach double-digit scoring figures, finishing the night with 10 points and a team-high six rebounds.
 
UT Tyler shot just 27.8 percent (15-of-54) for the night, seven of which baskets came from beyond the three-point arc. The Patriots were 7-for-34 (20.6 percent) from three, while St. Edward's finished their outing 10-for-25 (40.0 percent) from three-point range.
 
The Hilltoppers made 19 of their 32 shots in the first half to build a 51-to-28 lead at the halftime break. UT Tyler managed to cut the deficit to 16 at the 71-55 mark of the second half with just over five minutes remaining, but couldn't manage to narrow the lead any less than that down the stretch.
 
The loss moves the Patriots overall record to 15-7 on the year, and 7-6 in Lone Star Conference play.
 
UT Tyler will have three road games next week to close out the regular season, beginning with a Tuesday night game against Cameron at 7:30 p.m. in Lawton, Okla.