TYLER, TEXAS – The University of Texas at Tyler men's basketball team built a 16-point lead in the first half and then survived a late push from St. Edward's to claim a 75-71 victory inside the Herrington Patriot Center on Thursday night.
 
Senior Rashun Williams had 27 points and Jordan Hairston totaled 18 points to keep UT Tyler unbeaten on their home floor despite a late surge from St. Edward's in the waning minutes of the ballgame. UT Tyler led 34-18 with 6:48 remaining in the opening half, and took a 12-point lead into the halftime break before St. Edward's cut the deficit to just a point with 1:47 left on the clock.
 
UT Tyler never relinquished the lead and led for over 38 minutes of game action thanks to the strong start in the opening half. Hairston scored 13 of his 18 points in the opening half and Williams scored 16 of his 27 in the second half to each captain a half offensively for the Patriots.
 
The win is the fifth in a row for the Patriots on their home court, and snapped a four-game losing streak to bring the team's overall record to 7-4 on the year and 3-4 in Lone Star Conference play. St. Edward's falls to 11-5 on the year and 5-2 in LSC play.
 
UT Tyler made 10 out of their first 16 attempts from the field to establish a double-digit lead less then 10 minutes into the game at 22-12 with 11:28 on the clock in the opening half. That momentum continued as the Patriots put together a 14-6 run over the next five minutes of game time to build their biggest lead of the night.
 
Hairston and Williams each scored five points over the final five minutes of the first half to draw the score to a 44-32 halftime margin. Hairston went 5-for-8 from the field with a trio of three-point makes to lead all scorers with 13 points over the first 20 minutes of action. The Patriots forced St. Edward's into eight turnovers, while committing just three of their own in the first half.
 
St. Edward's scored the first two buckets coming out of the halftime break and then cut the margin down to single digits beginning at the 17:13 mark. The Hilltoppers went on a 13-5 run in the first four minutes of the second half to cut the UT Tyler advantage to just 49-45 with 15:18 to go.
 
Williams and the rest of the Patriot offense was able to keep a rhythm and therefore a comfortable margin through the middle stages of the second half after the quick St. Edward's start, but found trouble coming out of the 64-58 mark after a Williams lay-up with 8:17 left in the game. The Patriots didn't make a field goal for nearly seven minutes, allowing St. Edward's to climb back within one point at the 1:47 mark of the game.
 
UT Tyler was able to stay ahead thanks to free throw opportunities, and got a much-needed bucket from Williams with 1:26 left to draw the advantage out to 72-69. The Patriot defense stood strong from that point forward and Williams effectively put the game away with his 26^th and 27^th points of the night on free throws with four seconds on the clock.
 
The Arlington, Ga. Native was 4-of-9 from the field and 8-for-10 from the free throw line in the second half alone to notch 16 points. He finished his night 8-for-16 for the contest and led the Patriots with seven rebounds as well.
 
UT Tyler went 26-for-56 (46.4 percent) from the field as a team and 5-for-12 (41.7 percent) from beyond the three-point arc. The Patriots held a 38-to-29 advantage in the rebounding battle.
 
Senior Terrell Wilson finished the night with 10 points while sophomore Kyle Frelow had eight points and six rebounds.
 
UT Tyler will return to the court on Saturday afternoon in a 3 p.m. contest against St. Mary's.