TYLER, TEXAS – UT Tyler overcame a 12-point deficit at the halftime break to force overtime in a 75-71 loss to #8 Colorado School of Mines on Friday night inside the Herrington Patriot Center.

The Patriots out-scored Colorado School of Mines 40-to-28 in the final 20 minutes of play and sent the game into overtime with a Juan Pablo Camargo dunk with four seconds remaining in regulation. UT Tyler cut a five-point deficit in the overtime period to just one point with 1:41 remaining, but couldn't find the go-ahead bucket in the ensuing possession to ultimately fall by the four-point margin.

Senior Dontrell Hewlett led all scorers with 19 points, finishing 9-for-14 from the floor, and added five assists, four rebounds and three steals to the effort as well. The Patriots found success inside all evening, out-scoring the Orediggers 42-to-16 in the paint.

UT Tyler trailed by 20 at the 28-8 mark just over 10 minutes into the game, turning the ball over 14 times in the first 20 minutes of play. Colorado School of Mines took advantage, building that 20 point lead off of a run of 10 unanswered points leading into that 28-8 margin.

The Patriots found their footing offensively in the final 10 minutes of the half, cutting the lead to just 10 before a pair of free throws by Colorado School of Mines made it 36-24 at the halftime break.
UT Tyler made six out of their first nine shots coming out of the halftime break, putting together a 16-to-6 run to cut the lead to just 42-40 for the Orediggers. Hewlett and junior Hudson Anderson combined for 12 of those points over that stretch and the UT Tyler defense forced Colorado School of Mines into three turnovers and a 2-for-5 shooting effort in the first five minutes of the second half.

Hewlett's eighth point of the second half a few minutes later tied the game at 42-42 with 13:48 remaining. Colorado School of Mines recovered after the fast start to the half for the Patriots by connecting on consecutive threes around a lay-up for Akok Machar of UT Tyler to jump back ahead 48-44.

UT Tyler responded with a 15-to-7 run over the next six minutes of game action to build what would be their biggest lead of the night at 59-55 with 3:08 remaining. Colorado School of Mines leaned into the three-point shot again, connecting on their next three attempts to jump back ahead 64-62 with 1:30 remaining.

A pair of stalled possessions for both sides gave UT Tyler the ball with 26 seconds remaining, a possession that ended with the tying dunk for Camargo that made it 64-64 at the end of regulation.

Colorado School of Mines opened the overtime period with an 8-2 run to open a 75-67 advantage. UT Tyler made the next two baskets with lay-ups from Hewlett and Jadin Penigar to cut it to 72-71, but couldn't manage the go-ahead bucket in the waning minutes.

Camargo totaled 11 points and Machar and Anderson went for 10 points to join Hewlett in double-digit scoring figures. Anderson finished with his first career double-double in a Patriot uniform, adding a team-high 10 rebounds to the effort.

Machar went for eight rebounds and matched Hewlett with a game-high five assists.

UT Tyler shot 45.3 percent (29-for-64) from the floor and went 5-for-15 (33.3 percent) from three-point range.

The Patriots will return to the floor tomorrow at 3 p.m. against Regis for the second game of the 2024 South Central Region Challenge presented by Sqwincher.