CANYON, TEXAS – UT Tyler stayed within striking distance of #1 West Texas A&M until the final minutes of the contest in a 68-52 loss on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Patriots, who held West Texas A&M to their lowest point total of the season, made it a four-point game with less than 10 minutes on the clock after a Bryce Roberts three pointer with 9:16 remaining drew the UT Tyler deficit to just 49-45. West Texas A&M answered with two-straight three-point buckets of their own and then held a 10-plus point advantage for the final six minutes of play.
 
Roberts scored 13 of his 18 points in the second half of play, finishing 6-for-9 from the field and 4-of-6 from three-point range.
 
UT Tyler limited West Texas A&M to just 18 made baskets for the game, but couldn't overcome a 26-for-29 effort from the free throw line for the Buffs. West Texas A&M utilized 21 of those opportunities in the first half alone, connecting on 20, to overcome just eight made buckets in the first 20 minutes of play.
 
The Patriots didn't concede a double-digit advantage to the opposition until the 1:18 mark of the first half in a closely contested opening period. West Texas A&M extended a 38-28 halftime lead to 44-31 with 14:30 remaining in the second half before the Patriots put forth their best run of the afternoon over the next five minutes with a 14-5 run.
 
That run established the aforementioned four-point differential before West Texas A&M effectively controlled the game from then on.
 
Forwards Juan Pablo Camargo and Ryan Zambie both finished with 12 points on a day in which the Patriots went 19-for-53 (35.8 percent) for the game. UT Tyler shot 40 percent (6-for-15) from beyond the three-point arc and finished the afternoon 8-for-9 from the free-throw line.
 
Sophomore Alec Zambie finished his afternoon with six points, eight rebounds and four assists.
 
UT Tyler will stay on the road for a second straight weekend with road trips at UAFS and Oklahoma Christian scheduled for next weekend.