TYLER, TEXAS – UT Tyler led by as many as 33 and utilized four different Patriots in double-digit scoring figures to collect their first Lone Star Conference victory of the season on Saturday afternoon in an 80-67 final over UAFS.
 
The Patriots turned a 45-28 halftime advantage into a 74-41 lead just over 10 minutes into the second half to cruise to the first conference victory of the Tim Moser era for the program. Junior Juan Pablo Camargo went for a season high-19 points to lead the four Patriots that finished the evening with double-digit scoring performances.
 
Freshman Khalik Gardner went 7-for-13 from the field to finish with 15 points, while Bryce Roberts (13) and Nikolas Gustavson (11) each filled the stat sheet with contributions to go along with their scoring outputs. Roberts led the team with a career-high eight rebounds and five assists, while Gustavson added six boards and a trio of assists.
 
UT Tyler took care of the basketball with only 12 turnovers, the majority of which came in the waning minutes of the already decided contest and went 12-for-28 (42.9 percent) from three-point range as a team.
 
12 unanswered points to start the contest kick-started the performance for the Patriots and established a 12-0 lead less than five minutes into the game. Camargo helped spur that hot start for UT Tyler by knocking down his first four shot attempts of the afternoon, including a pair of three-pointers, the second of which established a 25-13 advantage for the Patriots with 10:16 left in the opening half.
 
UT Tyler led by double digits for the final 10 minutes of play in the first half and took a 45-28 advantage into the halftime break on Camargo's 12^th point of the first half at the buzzer.
 
The Patriots forced 11 turnovers and went 18-for-39 (46.2 percent) as a team to put forth what was undoubtedly one of their best 20 minutes of basketball of the year. UT Tyler committed just four turnovers as a team in the half.
 
The convincing halftime lead for the Patriots was extended to 20 at 57-37 with 15:29 remaining in the second half. A 15-4 run for UT Tyler over the next five minutes of play effectively put the game out of reach at 71-41 with 9:37 remaining on the clock.
 
Arkansas-Fort Smith played their best basketball of that final 10 minutes of play to whittle the deficit down to just 13 despite the game being well in-hand for the Patriots.
 
UT Tyler distributed the basketball at a high level throughout the afternoon, finishing the game with a season-high 22 assists. Roberts and Alec Zambie each led the team with five assists.
 
Zambie paired those five assists with five rebounds and seven points to chip in in a multitude of ways throughout the afternoon.
 
UT Tyler went 32-for-67 (47.8 percent) from the field as a team. Arkansas Fort-Smith finished the afternoon 29-for-55 (52.7 percent) as a unit, but committed 17 turnovers.
 
The Patriots will look to ride the momentum of their first LSC victory of the year into next weekend's road trip to St. Edward's and St. Mary's.