Game Info	Opponent Info
UT Tyler vs. St. Mary's UTT: 9-9, 5-9 LSC | STMU: 11-8, 8-6 LSC Thursday, Feb. 2nd | 7:30 P.M. San Antonio, Texas | Bill Greehey Arena		ROSTER	SCHEDULE	STATS
UT Tyler at St. Edward's UTT: 9-9, 5-9 LSC | SEU: 16-7, 10-4 LSC Saturday, Feb. 4th | 3:00 P.M. Austin, Texas | Recreation and Athletics Center		ROSTER	SCHEDULE	STATS

MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

 UT Tyler snapped a five-game losing streak on Saturday afternoon to conclude a pair of gritty contests with a 66-63 victory against Oklahoma Christian. The Patriots out-rebounded the Eagles by a 46-to-23 final margin in that victory, and survived a frantic final few minutes of basketball to escape with the win. Redshirt freshman Hasaan Herrington and junior Jordan Hairston combined to go 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the final minute of play, while Oklahoma Christian missed a pair of costly attempts from the charity stripes in the final minute to conclude what was a defensive slugfest in the second half. Neither team conceded more than 10 made attempts from the field in the final 20 minutes of action as both defenses stood strong. Oklahoma Christian went just 9-for-25 (36.0 percent) from the field in the second half and UT Tyler just 7-for-23 (30.4 percent). The difference proved to be the clutch free-throw shooting in the final minute from Herrington and Hairston, combined with the 8-0 differential in second-chance points in favor of UT Tyler between the two teams in the second half. The Patriots are one of five teams that enter this weekend with five Lone Star Conference wins, two games back of the magic eight spot as the top eight teams in the standings at season's end will qualify for the 2023 Lone Star Conference Men's Basketball Championships Tournament.

WHAT COACH WILSON IS SAYING

On his team's performance last weekend... "I thought Thursday, Arkansas-Fort Smith came in and they carved us like a turkey. Defensively we were not very good. We knew that was going to be a challenge because they have excellent movers without the basketball. We didn't do a very good job of guarding at the point of attack, so it wasn't just an offensive problem only on Thursday. Saturday we played alot better. Oklahoma Christian can make things tough because they're a change-defense team, like us. I was really proud of our kids on Saturday because I felt like every single kid that played made a major contribution throughout the course of the game. Overall you obviously would like to get the sweep at home, we are in a position right now where we have to win games and can't have any room for error, so really good to get the win on Saturday."

On this weekend's opponents in St. Mary's and St. Edward's...  "Those are two very good basketball teams, really good programs that have traditionally done really well in this league. We can't allow whether we're shooting the ball well or not shooting the ball well to effect how well or how hard we're trying to play. We may miss alot of shots, but we have to make sure they miss more. If it has to be ugly, then so be it."

SCOUTING THE RATTLERS

St. Mary's has won five out of their last six outings since the Jan. 7th loss against UT Tyler. The Rattlers sit sixth in the LSC standings thanks to that quality stretch of play, and have won three straight games heading into the two team's second meeting of the year on the Thursday night. The St. Mary's defense has held the last five opponents below 65 points and limited four of the five to less than 60 points. The Rattlers have climbed to second in the Lone Star Conference and 21st in all of Division II basketball, allowing 64.5 points per game. UT Tyler has won three straight games in the all-time series between the two programs, and now holds a 3-1 record all-time mark against the Rattlers.

SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS

St. Edward's sits in a tie for third place in the LSC standings with a record of 10-4 in conference play. The Hilltoppers sit ninth in the latest D2CSC South Central Regional Rankings with an overall record mark of 16-7 on the year. The Hilltoppers have continued to lean on offensive efficiency throughout the season, ranking second in the LSC in league games with an average of 79.4 points per game, and lead the conference in field goal percentage at 48.9 percent for the season. The win for UT Tyler earlier this season was the first for the program over St. Edward's, as the all-time series sits at 4-1 in favor of St. Edward's.

A LOOK AT THE STANDINGS

After the majority of scheduled games were cancelled on Tuesday evening due to inclement weather in the area, the LSC standings will remain a log jam throughout entering this week's play. The top eight teams at season's end will qualify for the 2023 LSC Men's Basketball Championships Tournament in Frisco, Texas. 
 

SCHOOL	CONF	CPCT.	OVERALL	PCT.	STREAK	HOME	AWAY	NEUTRAL
Angelo State	14-1	.933	18-3	.857	W9	10-0	7-1	1-2
West Texas A&M	12-2	.857	14-6	.700	L1	8-0	6-3	0-3
Lubbock Christian	10-4	.714	14-6	.700	W4	5-2	7-3	2-1
St. Edward's	10-4	.714	16-7	.696	W1	8-2	6-3	2-2
Texas A&M-Kingsville	9-5	.643	15-7	.682	L1	8-4	6-3	1-0
St. Mary's	8-6	.571	11-8	.579	W3	6-3	5-4	0-1
DBU	7-7	.500	12-10	.545	W2	8-3	3-5	1-2
Eastern New Mexico	7-7	.500	12-8	.600	L2	10-0	2-7	0-1
Midwestern State	7-8	.467	10-11	.476	W1	6-4	3-7	1-0
Western New Mexico	5-9	.357	11-9	.550	L1	5-4	5-5	1-0
Texas A&M International	5-9	.357	12-10	.545	L2	8-5	4-4	0-1
UT Tyler	5-9	.357	9-9	.500	W1	7-3	2-6	0-0
UAFS	5-10	.333	9-12	.429	L1	5-4	4-6	0-2
UT Permian Basin	5-10	.333	11-13	.458	W1	6-5	1-6	4-2
Oklahoma Christian	4-11	.267	8-13	.381	L2	4-7	2-6	2-0
Cameron	2-13	.133	4-17	.190	L2	3-8	1-9	0-0

TWO FOES WITH FAVORABLE MEMORIES

This weekend's pair of games will be a rematch for the Patriots against each side as divisional rivals. UT Tyler met St. Edward's and St. Mary's inside the Herrington Patriot Center back on Jan. 5th and 7th, and came away victorious in each outing. Senior Rashun Williams had 27 points and Jordan Hairston totaled 18 points to give the Patriots a win against St. Edward's despite a late surge from the Hilltoppers 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. Senior Terrell Wilson then played the hero role on Saturday afternoon for UT Tyler and converted a shot at the buzzer to score a 52-50 win for the Patriots over St. Mary's. Wilson's contested floater from just beyond the free-throw lane banked off the glass and found the bottom of the net on a night in which baskets were hard to come by in the low-scoring affair. UT Tyler outscored the Rattlers 34-to-28 in the second half to remain unbeaten on their home floor in 2022-23 with the win. Neither team shot the ball well as UT Tyler made just 19-of-48 (39.6 percent) from the field and St. Mary's just 21-of-61 (34.4 percent) of their attempts. The Patriots did play a much better offensive second half of basketball, converting better than 50 percent of their shots (13-of-25) after going just 6-for-23 (26.9 percent) in the first half. Hairston led the Patriot offense as the lone scorer in double-digits, totaling 13 points and six rebounds on the afternoon.

DEFENDING AT A HIGH LEVEL

UT Tyler continues to stand as one of the most difficult teams in the Lone Star Conference to score against this season. The Patriots rank fourth in conference games in scoring defense (66.8 ppg) and sixth in the league in field goal percentage defense (43.5 percent). UT Tyler has been a strong rebounding team throughout the conference schedule as well, averaging the second most total rebounds per game (36.1 rpg) and the second most offensive rebounds per game (12.8).

HEAD COACH LOUIS 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 Thursday night with a record of 45-48 in his four years as head coach of the Patriots.