TYLER, TEXAS – UT Tyler men's basketball continues to battle and hang tough in each contest, but West Texas A&M did enough on offense to hold them at arms length and pick up a 79-71 win on Saturday afternoon.
Jadin Penigar scored a team high 21 points while
Mareng Gatkuoth and
Dontrell Hewlett added in 16 and 15 each to lead the Patriots offense that shot 48% on the day and 41% from beyond the arc.
UT Tyler punched first on the day, as Penigar,
Mate Kapanadze, and Hewlett combined for the first six points and a 6-1 lead over the first three minutes and change as the Patriots defense was stifling in the early going. A 9-2 run from the Buffs gave them a slim lead, but the Patriots again answered with a 15-5 run that saw
Khalik Gardner get hot with seven points by himself as the team shot 6-for-8 from the floor and 3-for-3 from deep.
That run gave the Patriots a 23-15 lead with eight minutes left, but the Patriots offense went cold as the Buffs went on a 24-7 run to close out the half as they took a 39-30 lead heading into the break.
That lead extended to 13 points over the first 1:07 of the second half, but the Patriots refused to go away, again going on a big 15-8 run that saw Penigar and Gatkuoth combine for 13 points and three triples to cut the lead down to 51-45 with 12:05 remaining. That lead slipped down to just five points as
Hudson Anderson added a tough layup and Penigar drilled another triple with 10 minutes remaining.
The two teams traded runs back and forth as the Patriots again cut the lead down to five points with 6:14 remaining and again with 5:28 remaining, but the Patriots were unable to get any closer down the stretch of the contest. They put up one last gasp in the closing minutes, but the Buffs were able to knock down their free throws and keep the comeback at bay.
Jadin Penigar scored his 21 points on 8-for-16 shooting and made a pair of three pointers while adding five assists. Gatkuoth scored 16 points behind four three pointers and a pair of rebounds and one steal. Hewlett went 5-for-10 and added six rebounds and two assists to score 15 points.
UT Tyler will next host Cameron and Oklahoma Christian to close out a four game homestand inside the HPC next week.
