Match Info	Opponent Info
St. Edward's vs. UT Tyler SEU: 11-4, 5-1 LSC | UTT: 6-4, 2-4 LSC Thursday, Jan. 5th | 7:30 P.M. Tyler, Texas | Herrington Patriot Center		ROSTER	SCHEDULE	STATS
St. Mary's vs. UT Tyler STMU: 6-5, 3-3 LSC | UTT: 6-4, 2-4 LSC Saturday, Jan. 7th | 1:00 P.M. Tyler, Texas | Herrington Patriot Center		ROSTER	SCHEDULE	STATS

A COUPLE OF CLOSE CALLS

UT Tyler came out on the wrong end of a pair of overtime contests in their first action since the return from Christmas Break last weekend, falling in double overtime on Friday night against Oklahoma Christian and in overtime on Sunday afternoon against UAFS. Against Oklahoma Christian, Barnell Davis connected on a three-pointer with 13 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 62-62 to send the ballgame into a first overtime period that would end still tied after Mohamed Diallo converted a free-throw attempt with 10 seconds left. Diallo's make on the backend of the free throw opportunities allowed the Patriots to force a second overtime despite trailing for essentially the entirety of the first overtime before tying the game at 70-70. Oklahoma Christian went on to outscore UT Tyler 17-to-6 over the final five minutes to secure the double overtime victory. Senior Rashun Williams scored 19 points in the second half and overtime periods combined to finish with 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists on the night. The Patriots then overcame a 13-point halftime deficit before falling in a second straight overtime contest on Sunday afternoon at UAFS by an 83-75 final. UT Tyler scored 44 second half points, connecting on 16-of-25 from the field in the final 20 minutes of action, to negate a 38-25 halftime deficit and force overtime with the score even at 69-69 at the end of regulation. Senior Terrell Wilson, who scored 13 of his team-high 17 points in the second half alone, sent the game into overtime with a free-throw make with four seconds remaining. UAFS regrouped in the five-minute overtime period to outscore the Patriots by an eight-point margin and avoid what would have been an improbable loss having led for over 42 minutes of the ballgame. The two close calls for UT Tyler draws their losing streak to four straight and their overall record to 6-4 on the year.

RETURNING HOME AT THE RIGHT TIME

A return to the Herrington Patriot Center couldn't come at a better time for the Patriots after two long trips sandwiched around a Christmas Break. UT Tyler played their best basketball of the season in their most recent outings on their home floor, including a pair of impressive Lone Star Conference debuts on Nov. 30th and Dec. 2nd. The Patriots defeated Cameron and Midwestern State handily in those LSC debuts, and will be looking to return to that form over the course of this weekend's action. UT Tyler has outscored opponents by an average of 23.3 points per contest, limited their opposition to just 58.2 points per contest, and shot nearly 50 percent from the field as a unit in their home contests in 2022-23. Senior Rashun Williams has been dynamic inside his home arena, averaging 26.7 points per game. Head coach Louis Wilson and his team will unquestionably look to find that rhythm both offensively and defensively in this weekend's contests against St. Edward's and St. Mary's. 

SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS

St. Edward's is once again a top contender in the Lone Star Conference having produced a record of 11-4 so far in 2022-23. The Hilltoppers are 5-1 in Lone Star Conference play, but enter Thursday's meeting with UT Tyler on the heels of their first defeat in league play, an 80-76 loss at the hands of Texas A&M-Kingsville. St. Edward's ranks second in the LSC in league action with an average of 83.2 points per contest, and averages the best team field goal percentage at 48.9 percent (179-of-366) in LSC play. The Achilles heal for the Hilltoppers has been the defensive side of the floor, as they rank 13th in league play in scoring defense, surrendering 73.2 points per game. St. Edward's features four different options with double-digit scoring figures for the season, including returning All-LSC First Team selection Uche Dibiamaka. History will be on the Hilltoppers side on Thursday night as they hold a 4-0 all-time lead in the series including two straight wins inside the Herrington Patriot Center.

SCOUTING THE RATTLERS

St. Mary's will visit DBU on Thursday night prior to the contest with UT Tyler on Saturday afternoon with a record of 6-5 on the year. The Rattlers enter this weekend's play having dropped three straight Lone Star Conference games after winning their opening three league contests. St. Mary's once again relies on the duo of Tyler Caron and Caleb Jordan for their offense, as both players average around 14 points a game. St. Mary's has been balanced in league action both offensively and defensively, ranking eighth in scoring offense (70.5 ppg) and seventh in scoring defense (69.3 ppg) in league games. UT Tyler is 2-1 all-time against St. Mary's, and has gotten the better of the Rattlers in each of the last two meetings.

A LOOK AT THE STANDINGS

The chase for the eight available sports in the 2023 Lone Star Conference Men's Basketball Postseason Tournament is officially off and running. UT Tyler sits in the midst of the chase of one of the eight coveted seeds for the tournament, awarded to the top eight finishers in the conference standings. The LSC is utilizing a two-division scheduling model within the 22 league games, but the top eight seeds for the tournament will be based on the top eight finishers, regardless of division. The divisional winners will received the no. 1 and no. 2 seeds in the tournament.

SCHOOL	DIV	DPCT.	CONF	CPCT.	OVERALL	PCT.	STREAK	HOME	AWAY	NEUTRAL
EAST DIVISION
Texas A&M-Kingsville	2-0	1.000	3-3	.500	9-5	.643	W4	3-3	5-2	1-0
UAFS	2-1	.667	3-4	.429	7-6	.538	W1	5-2	2-2	0-2
Oklahoma Christian	2-1	.667	2-5	.286	6-7	.462	W2	4-5	0-2	2-0
St. Edward's	1-1	.500	5-1	.833	11-4	.733	L1	7-1	2-1	2-2
DBU	1-1	.500	4-2	.667	9-5	.643	L1	5-0	3-3	1-2
Texas A&M International	1-1	.500	2-4	.333	9-5	.643	W1	6-1	3-3	0-1
St. Mary's	0-2	.000	3-3	.500	6-5	.545	L2	5-2	1-2	0-1
UT Tyler	0-2	.000	2-4	.333	6-4	.600	L4	4-0	2-4	0-0
WEST DIVISION
West Texas A&M	2-0	1.000	6-0	1.000	8-4	.667	W2	6-0	2-1	0-3
Eastern New Mexico	2-0	1.000	4-2	.667	9-3	.750	W4	8-0	1-2	0-1
Midwestern State	2-1	.667	3-4	.429	6-7	.462	W1	2-2	3-5	1-0
Angelo State	1-1	.500	5-1	.833	9-3	.750	L1	4-0	4-1	1-2
Lubbock Christian	1-1	.500	4-2	.667	8-4	.667	L1	4-1	2-2	2-1
Western New Mexico	1-1	.500	2-4	.333	8-4	.667	W1	5-2	2-2	1-0
UT Permian Basin	0-2	.000	2-4	.333	8-7	.533	L3	3-1	1-4	4-2
Cameron	0-3	.000	0-7	.000	2-11	.154	L9	1-4	1-7	0-0

STRONG UNDER THE BUCKET

UT Tyler leads the Lone Star Conference this season in league games with an average of 38.0 rebounds per game. The Patriots average 14.2 offensive boards per game, best in league games so far this season. Senior Milan Szabo averages 7.0 rebounds per game in LSC action, fifth best in the conference. Szabo (7.4), Mohammed Diallo (6.3) and Kyle Frelow (5.0) all average five or more rebounds per contest on the year.

COACH WILSON

Head coach Louis Wilson is in his fourth season at the helm of the UT Tyler men's basketball program in 2022-23, and eighth season overall as a head coach at the Division II level. The 2022-23 season will mark the 31st year of collegiate basketball coaching experience for Wilson, as he accumulated 23 years of experience at the Division I level as an associate or assistant head coach prior to his time in Tyler. He spent five years as head coach at Division II foe Adams State of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) from 2010-15, totaling a 95-46 record as head coach of the Grizzlies, and led the program to three consecutive appearances in the NCAA Division II National Tournament from 2010-13. Coach Wilson enters Monday night with a record of 42-43 in his four years as head coach of the Patriots.