TYLER, TEXAS – The University of Texas at Tyler men's basketball team will travel to Oklahoma Christian and UAFS this weekend for a pair of Lone Star Conference basketball contests.
 
The Patriots are 12-6 on the year and 4-5 in LSC play following a week in which they dropped a pair of games against DBU and Texas A&M International, and then rebounded with a Saturday afternoon win over Texas A&M-Kingsville. This weekend's road trip to Oklahoma Christian and UAFS comes in the middle of that three-game homestand last week and a three-game homestand coming up in the ensuing outings for UT Tyler.
 
Thursday's game is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. start at Oklahoma Christian and Saturday's game a 4 p.m. tip at UAFS.
 
AN END TO A BRUTAL STRETCH
 
UT Tyler wrapped up a stretch in which five out of their six opponents have already reached the double-digit win threshold with a 63-62 win over Texas A&M-Kingsville on Saturday afternoon inside the Herrington Patriot Center. That win finished up a brutal six-game stretch for the Patriots that saw the team take on the undisputed no. 1 team in the country (Lubbock Christian), three out of the top four teams in the current LSC standings (Lubbock Christian, DBU and Texas A&M-Commerce) and six teams that were mentioned in the D2SIDA South Central Region Rankings at the time of the contest.
 
It didn't come easy, or assured, as graduate student Micah Fuller had to connect on two free throws with one second on the clock to capture that 63-62 victory. Fuller completed that task, and finished off an evening in which he was 13-for-13 from the charity stripe in route to 21 points for the contest.
 
His 21^st point of the night on the backend of those two free throws negated what was a once one-point Javelina lead with six seconds on the clock as a foul on the Patriots sent Texas A&M-Kingsville to the free throw line to take a one-point advantage. The game-winner for Fuller allowed UT Tyler to escape with the win despite being outscored by a 34-30 margin in the second half.
 
UT Tyler finished the six games with a 2-4 record, but hung around until the final minute against no. 1 Lubbock Christian and then dropped a 70-66 decision to Texas A&M International in overtime on Thursday night in a pair of games that easily could have gone either way.
 
STAYING IN THE REGIONAL RANKINGS
 
The Patriots strength of schedule is undoubtedly one of the toughest in the LSC if not the entire country, and played a big part in UT Tyler remaining in the top 10 of the D2SIDA South Central Regional Rankings despite a 1-2 record last week. UT Tyler has appeared in eight straight editions of the rankings, checking in at no. 10 in this week's poll.
 
UT Tyler rose to as high as no. 3 back on Dec. 13^th in the week five edition of the rankings.
 
FULLER IN THE HISTORY BOOKS
 
Graduate student Micah Fuller continues to climb the all-time scoring record list in the history of the UT Tyler men's basketball program and currently sits in the no. 7 spot with 794 career points in his three seasons as a Patriot. He has scored 1,245 career points and counting between his five-year career at the University of Montevallo and UT Tyler, and has averaged double-digit scoring figures in each of his last four seasons.
 
Fuller ranks second all-time in the Patriot record books with 277 made free throws, just 26 makes behind the school record mark of 303 held by Brandon Weasby (2003-08).
 
GOTTA HAVE THEM
 
One would hesitate to call a pair of games "must win" with seven games remaining in a basketball season, but if there would ever be a set of games that would qualify for that assessment, this weekend's games would definitely be it. The Patriots currently sit 10^th in the LSC standings with a 4-5 record and .444 winning percentage in conference play.
 
The Lone Star Conference recently announced that winning percentage will be used to determine the conference champion as well as the seeding for the LSC Postseason Tournament if there is an unequal number of games played.
 
It speaks to the depth of the league this season that the Patriots sit tenth in both the regional and conference standings despite being 12-6 on the year, but it will be imperative that UT Tyler improves on it's league standings if they have any chance of earning an at-large bid into the NCAA Division II National Tournament at season's end. This weekend's games will come against an Oklahoma Christian squad that sits at 3-5 in LSC play and 7-12 on the year, and a UAFS team that is 5-3 in league play and already defeated UT Tyler in non-conference play earlier this year.
 
Wins in both contests this weekend would get the Patriots conference record back above .500, defeat a team that beat the Patriots earlier this season, and give the team momentum heading into a one-game week at home against Texas A&M-Commerce that begins a stretch of three straight home games.
 
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
 
UT Tyler defeated Oklahoma Christian by a 77-54 margin back on Dec. 18^th inside the HPC in non-conference action. Both teams have gone 4-5 since that meeting, but Oklahoma Christian does sport a 5-4 record on their home floor.
 
 The Eagles defeated UAFS in overtime by an 84-83 final in their most recent contest on Jan. 27^th, and have alternated wins and losses in their last six games. They average the least amount of points in conference games in the LSC (62.3 ppg), but have rank ninth in the league in scoring defense (72.0 ppg).
 
Drew Tennial has averaged 14.3 points per games in conference play, 14^th best in the Lone Star Conference, and averages 13.7 points on the year. Tennial also leads the team in rebounding (7.3 ppg) and has gone for 15, 16, 14 and 21 in his last four outings.
 
The win earlier this season moves the all-time series to 2-1 in favor of UT Tyler, but the Patriots did come up short in their previous trip to Edmond, Okla. by a 65-59 margin back on Feb. 29^th, 2020.
 
SCOUTING THE LIONS
 
UAFS snapped the seven-game winning streak to open up the 2021-22 season for UT Tyler back on Dec. 16^th with an 85-72 win in non-conference play. The win snapped a two-game winning streak for the Patriots in the all-time series, and moved the overall record to 3-2 for UT Tyler against UAFS.
 
UAFS is 11-9 on the year and 5-3 in the LSC and sits fifth in the LSC standings with a 0.625 winning percentage. The Lions rattled off three straight wins over Western New Mexico, Texas A&M-Kingsville and Texas A&M International before their Jan. 27^th loss on the road against Oklahoma Christian in overtime.
 
Matthew Wilson has averaged 18.3 points per game in LSC play, third best in the league, and leads the conference with an average of 20.7 points for the year. Wilson has gone for scoring totals of 32, 15, 20 and 27 in his last four outings.
 
UAFS ranks atop the LSC in scoring defense (62.9 ppg) in Lone Star Conference games, and holds the fifth best rebounding margin (2.6) in league play as well.