TYLER, TEXAS – A Nikolas Gustavson three-point shot at the buzzer rimmed in-and-out to allow Eastern New Mexico to escape with a 67-66 victory over UT Tyler on Thursday night.
 
That three-point shot from straight on as time expired nearly put the finishing touches on a furious comeback for a Patriot team that trailed 64-52 with just 6:02 remaining in the contest. Junior Alec Zambie, who scored 12 of his team-high 19 points in the second half alone, helped kick-start an 11-0 run by the Patriots over the next four minutes of game time to cut the deficit to just 64-63 with 2:44 remaining.
 
Zambie was a clear emotional leader for the Patriots throughout the contest, finishing with the aforementioned 19 points and a team-high nine rebounds on the night. The Patriots dominated the glass throughout the evening, out-rebounding the Greyhounds by a 47-to-32 margin, and out-scoring Eastern New Mexico 34-to-24 in the paint.
 
Eastern New Mexico scored four unanswered point of their own after the 11-0 run for the Patriots and carried a two-possession lead into the final minute of action before junior Bryce Roberts connected on a much-needed three-point make with 47 seconds left to make it 67-66. UT Tyler stood strong defensively on the ensuing possession, and then missed a pair of shots with a chance to win the game, the first from the hands of Terrell Wilson and the second the buzzer-beater attempt from Gustavson, to fall by the 67-66 final.
 
UT Tyler never led in the second half, but willed their way back into the contest to give themselves a chance after Eastern New Mexico opened their largest lead of the game with the 12-point advantage at 64-62. That difference came on the heels of a 16-4 run for the Greyhounds through the middle stretches of the second half.
 
The Patriots tied the game at 48-48 with 11:56 remaining after Eastern New Mexico built their largest lead of the first half in the final possessions to take a 35-28 advantage into the halftime break. That tie at 48 points each spurred the alternating runs for both teams, culminating in the last second near-make from Gustavson.
 
UT Tyler shot 41.8 percent (28-for-67) from the field for the night and 8-for-19 (42.1 percent) from beyond the three-point arc. Gustavson totaled 13 points on the night and forward Juan Pablo Camargo 10 points to join Zambie in double-digit scoring figures.
 
The out-standing rebounding effort was a total-team affair for the Patriots, as eight different players record four or more rebounds in the contest.
 
Eastern New Mexico went 22-for-56 (39.3 percent) from the floor and 7-for-15 from three-point range, but shot 18 more free throws than the Patriots in the game. UT Tyler went 2-for-6 from the charity stripe, while Eastern New Mexico connected on 16-of-24 at the line.
 
UT Tyler will stay at home for a Saturday afternoon contest against Western New Mexico set for a 3 p.m. tip-off.