BAYAMÓN, PUERTO RICO – The UT Tyler men's basketball team opened the Puerto Rico Classic with a dominant 93–61 victory over Puerto Rico–Río Piedras on Wednesday afternoon. The Patriots led for nearly 37 minutes, controlled the paint with 60 points inside, and received a major boost from the bench, which accounted for more than half of the team's scoring.
UT Tyler placed three players in double figures and forced havoc defensively, as five Patriots recorded multiple steals in the win.
The opening three minutes featured back-and-forth action, with the Patriots striking first on a Hudson Anderson floater. Río Piedras briefly took a 7–4 lead at the 17:43 mark, but that basket sparked a decisive response from UT Tyler. From that point until 12:50, the Patriots rattled off a 21–0 run to seize control of the game.
Sean Emfinger ignited the surge with back-to-back finishes in the paint, while Xavier Williams forced a turnover and converted at the rim in transition. John Barbee knocked down the Patriots' first three-pointer of the game during the stretch, followed by another Williams steal and fast-break layup. Gregory Fowls added consecutive possessions with a bucket, and Kyle Morgan capped the run with a layup to make it 25–7.
A Río Piedras three briefly slowed the momentum, but Jacob Bell answered immediately with a triple of his own to restore an 18-point lead. Morgan later pushed the advantage to 20 with another three, and UT Tyler's largest lead of the half reached 23 after Williams recorded his third steal and finished on the other end. The Roosters closed the half with their strongest stretch, outscoring the Patriots 14–7 over the final five minutes to cut the deficit to 16 at the break.
The first 10 minutes of the second half were more evenly contested. After a Patriots midrange jumper opened the half, Río Piedras connected from deep. A Sam Phipps tip-in and consecutive Barbee steal-and-score plays were answered by another Roosters three. Emfinger went coast-to-coast for a layup before yet another Río Piedras three made it a 51–36 game. Morgan responded with a three of his own, though the Roosters answered again to trim the margin to 14.
From there, UT Tyler pulled away for good. At the 10:51 mark, the Patriots strung together a decisive 9–0 run in just 43 seconds, fueled by a Williams paint score, a Morgan layup, a Noah Suarjaya three, and a Phipps finish to push the lead to 69–46. After some additional back-and-forth action, the Patriots closed the game on a 7–3 run, capped by Patrick Carr free throws, to secure the 93–61 final—their largest lead of the contest.
UT Tyler shot 56.5 percent from the floor, dominated the glass 47–18, and forced 21 turnovers. The Patriots saw five players record multiple steals, while the bench poured in 51 of the team's 93 points.
Williams finished with a team-high plus-minus of +29, tallying 12 points on 6-of-11 shooting to go along with six rebounds and four steals. Morgan added 12 points off the bench on 4-of-5 shooting and pulled down six rebounds.
The Patriots will wrap up the Puerto Rico Classic on Thursday, facing Puerto Rico–Bayamón at 6 p.m. Central Time as they look to return home with a 6–3 record.
