TYLER, TEXAS - UT Tyler fell to Texas A&M International with a final score of 77-71 on Saturday afternoon inside the Herrington Patriot Center.
The Patriots celebrated Senior Day on Saturday as
David Ayala,
Juan Pablo Camargo,
Mareng Gatkuoth,
Nikolas Gustavson,
Ryan Swan,
Arnaud Revaz, and
Dontrell Hewlett were honored in a pregame ceremony.
In the first half, the Patriots started strong with
Dontrell Hewlett scoring the initial points with a layup. That layup kicked off a 16-10 run to begin the game that saw the Patriots knock down a trio of three pointers. However the Dustdevils battled back by closing out the half on a 33-14 run, taking a 43-32 lead into the halftime break.
In the second half, UT Tyler outscored the Dustdevils 39-34 and also battled back from a deficit of 18 points at one point. The Patriots began the half by battling the Dustdevils nearly shot for shot, as
Mareng Gatkuoth scored five points in the opening five minutes and change.
With just over nine minutes left in the contest, the Patriots kicked off on a 23-10 run that lasted all the way up until 40 seconds remaining. They missed just two shots in the stretch as Hewlett and Gatkuoth combined for 19 points. That run was capped off by a Hewlett layup with 40 seconds remaining, cutting the lead down to five points. However, the Patriots were unable to get any closer in the contest, as the Dustdevils converted from the charity stripe and were able to keep the Patriots at arms length.
Mareng Gatkuoth led UT Tyler with 25 points, converting 7-of-10 from the field, including 5-of-8 from beyond the arc, and was perfect from the free-throw line on six attempts.
Dontrell Hewlett also made a significant impact, scoring 17 points with an 8-for-15 shooting performance while adding four assists.
Juan Pablo Camargo contributed defensively with two blocks, and
David Ayala was active on the boards, pulling down five rebounds, including four on the defensive end, and adding two assists in his start.
UT Tyler now looks ahead to a matchup with UT Permian Basin to kick off a three game road trip to end the regular season.
