DALLAS, TEXAS – The UT Tyler men's basketball team began the first of two matchups in a span of three days with DBU with an 80-69 loss on Thursday night in Dallas.
The first battle of the Patriots went DBU's way following a second half in which they out-scored UT Tyler by a 47-to-32 margin and shot 60 percent (14-of-23) from the field as a team. Senior
Rashun Williams totaled 21 points for the night to lead the way offensively for the Patriots, and connected on 8-for-16 from the field.
UT Tyler held a 37-33 advantage at the halftime break after 12 unanswered points beginning at the 8:10 mark negated what was once a 10-point DBU lead at 28-18. UT Tyler held DBU without a made field goal for over six minutes of game time over the course of that 12-0 run, leading to the four-point advantage for the Patriots heading into the break.
UT Tyler made 6-for-14 (42.8 percent) from beyond the three-point arc, and used the six minute scoring drought from DBU to limit the opposition to just 11-of-28 (39.2 percent) from the field.
The final 20 minutes were a different story for both teams, as DBU stayed within reach of the Patriots throughout the first 10 minutes of game action and then never looked back once they took their first lead of the second half.
DBU took over after jumping ahead 54-53 with 10:18 remaining, and outscored the Patriots 26-to-16 from that point forward thanks to a second half offense that that went 14-for-23 (60.8 percent) from the field and 5-for-8 (62.5 percent) from three-point range.
Senior
Terrell Wilson added 10 points and a team-high four assists to the effort for UT Tyler, while classmate
Mohamed Diallo led the rebounding effort with nine.
UT Tyler finished the night 25-for-57 (43.9 percent) from the field, and 11-of-28 (39.3 percent) from three.
UT Tyler and DBU will now make their way to East Texas for the second game in a span of three days between the two programs on Saturday inside the Herrington Patriot Center at 3 p.m. That contest will close out the 2022-23 regular season for both teams.
