HONOLULU, HAWAI'I – UT Tyler men's basketball battled all game long on both sides of the ball, but Alaska Anchorage ultimately came up with just enough to give them the win in the Hoops in Hawaii Classic.
 
The Patriots had a chance at the last second bucket, but Alec Zambie could not get the floater to fall as Alaska Anchorage took home the 51-49 win.
 
On the night, the Patriots held the Seawolves to 27.9% from the floor and 20.6% from beyond the arc while shooting 38.5% from the floor themselves.
 
Alec Zambie led all scorers with 16 points on 7-for-15 shooting while also grabbing six rebounds. He was joined in double figures by Juan Pablo Camargo, who scored 15 points on an efficient 7-for-11 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds while also picking up two blocks and a steal.
 
It was a 29-20 advantage over the first 20 minutes of the contest for UT Tyler as the defense put on a clinic against the Seawolves. The game started out at 13-13 over the first 6:05, but a 6-0 run by three different scorers put the Patriots ahead 19-14 at the 9:55 mark.
 
The Seawolves would close the game to just one with a layup at the 8:42 mark, but the Patriots would not allow a field goal for the remainder of the half as they took the opportunity to close the half on an 8-0 run that featured five points from Zambie.
 
Both teams would battle their way through the opening minutes of the second period, but the Patriots were the team that held on to the eight point advantage at the 12:28 mark of the half.
 
The Seawolves would begin to claw themselves back into the contest, going on a 10-4 run over 4:23 of game time to cut the lead all the way back down to just two points.
 
Juan Pablo Camargo again lifted the offense with a crucial dunk and a tough reverse layup to keep the Patriots up four, but another clutch run that included a four point play with 2:45 remaining put the Seawolves ahead.
 
They would grow their lead to four, and Camargo again dropped in a clutch bucket to cut the lead to two with 1:42 left. He came up big again with a huge block to give the Patriots the ball back, but they could not find the netting down the stretch to close the gap.
 
Another big defensive stop gave the Patriots the ball with nine seconds left, but the last second shot from Zambie rimmed out and the Seawolves took the win.
 
For the Patriots, they will now close out their time in Hawai'I on Monday evening as they take on Chaminade at 5:45 HST, 9:45 CST.