TYLER, TEXAS – UT Tyler's John Barbee went for a career-high 29 points in a 66-60 loss to Texas A&M-Kingsville on Saturday afternoon inside the Herrington Patriot Center.
 
Barbee led the Patriots in rebounding with nine rebounds as well for the career afternoon for the Tacoma, Wash. product. That afternoon was out-shined by a strong second half of play from Texas A&M-Kingsville that saw the Javelinas outscore the Patriots 41-to-29.
 
UT Tyler held Texas A&M-Kingsville scoreless for the final 2:37 of the first half and scored six points of their own to take their biggest lead of the night into the halftime break at 31-25. Barbee went for 14 points in the opening 20 minutes of play for a Patriot team that went 12-for-24 (50 percent) from the field in the opening half.
 
Texas A&M-Kingsville scored the first nine points of the second half to quickly wipe away the Patriot lead in the first four minutes of the second half. Texas A&M-Kingsville, who shot just 10-for-28 (35.7 percent) from the field in the first half, knocked down eight of their first 12 shots in the second half.
 
That great start produced a 45-42 advantage for Texas A&M-Kingsville with 10:35 remaining in the ball game. The Javelinas stayed productive offensively through midway stages of the second half, drawing out their largest lead of the game at 59-51 with 3:27 left in the contest.
 
UT Tyler never managed to whittle the deficit down to a single possession through the final 3:27 of the contest as Texas A&M-Kingsville went 7-for-8 from the free-throw line down the stretch to close out a half in which the offensive unit went 12-for-28 (42.8 percent) from the field.
 
UT Tyler finished the game 24-for-57 (42.1 percent) as a team from the floor and 6-for-21 (28.6 percent) from beyond the three-point arc, but converted on just 42.9 percent (6-for-14) of their free throws.
 
The Patriots outrebounded the Javelinas by a final margin of 38-to-33.
 
Graduate student Terrell Wilson finished his afternoon with nine points, five rebounds and a trio of steals. Alec Zambie, Khalik Gardner and David Ayala all finished the night with six points.
 
The Patriots will hit the road for the next two weekends, beginning with a trip to Lubbock Christian and #2 West Texas A&M on Thursday and Saturday.