Game Info	Opponent Info
UT Tyler vs. UAFS UTT: 2-16 (1-11 LSC) | UAFS: 4-15 (2-11 LSC) Thursday, Feb. 1st | 7:30 p.m. Fort Smith, Ark. | Stubblefield Center		ROSTER	SCHEDULE	STATS
UT Tyler vs. Oklahoma Christian UTT: 2-16, (1-11 LSC) | OC: 9-10 (6-7 LSC) Saturday, Feb. 3rd | 3 p.m. Oklahoma City, Okla. | Payne Athletic Center		ROSTER	SCHEDULE	STATS

LAST TIME OUT

(RV) Lubbock Christian seized control midway through the first half of action and never looked back, downing UT Tyler by a 68-52 final on Thursday night. Lubbock Christian connected on four straight three-point attempts and then added another two-point make to build their first double-digit advantage of the game at 23-13 with 9:05 remaining in the opening half. The Chaps took a 14-point lead into the halftime break after going 9-for-14 from beyond the three-point line in the first 20 minutes of play. UT Tyler couldn't keep pace offensively, shooting just 3-for-16 (18.8 percent) from three-point range for the game. John Barbee had 11 points and Alec Zambie 10 points to lead a Patriot offense that went 19-for-46 (41.3 percent) from the field.

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.

WHAT COACH MOSER IS SAYING

On his team's performances in last weekend's tests at nationally-ranked opponents... "What a great atmosphere in Lubbock. You break down the game as a whole and really we had a breakdown and lost four of their shooters in each half and that cost us the game. A team like that, you break down and they're going to beat you, they move the ball so well. We grew as a team and I think that game really helped us. I thought our kids played hard and competed all the way through. Against West Texas A&M, obviously the no. 1 team in the country, we put a game plan together and I feel like we're trending the right way. I think our kids battled again. We had plenty of opportunities to make some shots and we really battled hard. I love our locker room right now, it's not horseshoes we want to win so nobody's happy at that, but I do feel like we are trending in the right direction."

On what his team need's to improve on in order to collect wins in the second half of the LSC schedule... "We're struggling to score, there is no doubt about that. We've had some injuries to some of our top scorers, so we have to execute. We're probably going to have to control tempo, teams are now going to bring the press because they want to speed us up, so we're going to have to handle the ball and execute. We have to lock in better defensively to make sure the other team doesn't shoot over the top of us."

PATRIOT NEWS AND NOTES

- UT Tyler will stay on the road this weekend for road trips at UAFS and Oklahoma Christian on Thursday and Friday. The Patriots enter the pair of East Division Lone Star Conference rematches with a record of 2-16 on the year and 1-11 in Lone Star Conference play. UT Tyler got the better of UAFS in the first meeting between the two teams back on Jan. 6th by an 80-67 final and narrowly dropped a 74-71 final on Jan. 4th in the first meeting with Oklahoma Christian.
- Junior Bryce Roberts leads UT Tyler on the season with an average of 12.9 points per contest. 
- UT Tyler averages just 66.3 points per game on the year, but ranks sixth in the LSC in scoring defense (73.9 ppg) and has limited three straight opponents to less than 70 points entering the weekend.
- The Patriots are 235-293 (.446) all-time as a program and 55-88 (.390) since beginning Division II play in 2019-20. The Patriots are 25-63 in four seasons of Lone Star Conference play.
- The Patriots have shown glimpses of success during the Division II era, having earned national rankings early in both the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons, but closed out each of the last two campaigns with three and eight game losing streaks, respectively. UT Tyler finished 9-17 last season and 5-17 in Lone Star Conference play. The Patriots had their best season of the Division II era the previous year as they went 16-10, made their first appearance in the Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament and were regionally ranked in three editions of the NCAA Division II Regional Rankings.
- Head coach Tim Moser takes the reigns of the program in 2023-24 as the fifth head coach in UT Tyler men's basketball history. Moser returns to the men's side of the collegiate game after serving as the Associate Head Coach for a remarkable turnaround within the UT Tyler women's basketball program.  As a head coach, Moser holds a 513-186 career record (.747) and has won 13 conference championships en route to 12 conference or region coach of the year accolades. Combined with his totals as an assistant coach, Moser has coached 20 conference championship teams during his storied career. He has served as head coach on the men's side at Eastern Wyoming College from 2018-2021 and at Otero Junior College from 1998-2005. He went 150-33 (.828) over six seasons as head coach of the women's side at Alaska-Anchorage from 2006-12. 
- The 2023-24 roster features just three returners from the 2022-23 roster for UT Tyler, only one of which saw game action last season. The 2023-24 roster features 16 newcomers to begin the year, seven junior college additions, five four-year transfers and four freshman. 
- UT Tyler snapped a three-game losing streak in the all-time series against UAFS with the victory over the Lions earlier this season. UAFS still maintains a 5-3 advantage over the Patriots in the series and is 2-0 on their home court.
- UT Tyler is 4-3 all-time against Oklahoma Christian and 1-2 against the Eagles in Oklahoma City.