UT Tyler's Danai Woods (left) provides full-court pressure for the Patriots against UT Dallas on Thursday at the Herrington Patriot Center. (Jake A. Waddingham | Tyler Morning Telegraph)

UT Tyler was hoping to put a stranglehold on the ASC East. Instead, the Patriots have some work to do.

UT Dallas hit the shots and the free throws down the stretch and the Patriots couldn’t connect as the Comets scored a 63-54 before nearly 1,000 loud fans at the Herrington Patriot Center on Thursday.

The Patriots (14-6) and the Comets (14-6) are now tied atop the American Southwest Conference East Division at 9-5 with five games remaining in the regular season. The winner of the East hosts the ASC postseason tournament.

In the women’s game, the Patriots avenged an earlier loss to UTD with a 65-55 victory.

The Patriots are home on Saturday for their next-to-last regular season home game. UT Tyler meets Ozarks in a doubleheader. The women begin at 1 p.m., followed by the men at 3 p.m. The seniors will also be honored.

MEN

The Patriots had a chance to go up a couple of games in the East, but 6-6 forward Kyle Schleigh was too much to handle inside. Schleigh had a game-high 24 points along with nine rebounds.

UT Tyler shot just 41 percent (20 of 49), while the Comets were over 50 percent (21 of 41).

Travis Dykman led the Patriots with 12 points and teammate Darren Houliston added 11.

The Comets took advantage of getting to the foul line, hitting 16 of 24. The Patriots were 10 of 14. Also, UTD was 5 of 11 at the 3-point line, while the Patriots were 4 of 20.

UT Tyler rallied to tie the game at 50 on a traditional three-point play, followed by a long distance 3-pointer by Jordan Cannon with 2:22 to go in the game.

But the Comets scored six straight points to swing the game into their favor.

WOMEN

The Patriots defense held the Comets to one field goal in a 13-minute period of the second half to capture the win over their rivals.

Brittany King led a balanced scoring attack for UT Tyler (13-7, 8-6 ASC) with 12 points. Taylor Murphy and Teylor Seals had nine points each, while Danai Woods and Olivia Burns added eight apiece.

Lauren Glasco paced the Pats with six boards and Seals had four rebounds.

“This was a really great team win,” Patriots coach Kevin Baker said. “As far as defense anytime you hold a team as good as UTD to 50 or so points you’ve done a pretty good job.”

In the second half the Patriots held UTD (13-7, 9-5) to 33.3 percent (7 of 21) shooting.

Jo’Anna Davis, a 5-6 sophomore guard from Cushing, led the Comets with 21 points, while Amber Brown added 13 points.

It was a key win for the Patriots in their quest to secure a playoff spot. The top four teams from the East and West make the postseason tournament. With five games remaining, Louisiana College has clinched first. UTD is second, while the Patriots are in battle for third with Mississippi College.

Patriots Points: Prior to both games a moment of silence was observed for UT Tyler dancer Callie Graul, who passed away after a brief illness Thursday morning. The Whitehouse native was also a member of Alpha Chi Omega. Family and friends honored her by wearing red and green ribbons. … Caldwell Elementary’s Teams of Tomorrow Tiny Tots performed at halftime.

———

UT TYLER 65, UT DALLAS 55

UT DALLAS (13-7, 9-5) — Jo’Anna Davis 6-10 4-4 21; Amber Brown 4-8 3-5 13; Kellie Loukanis 4-8 0-0 9; Morgan Kilgore 2-4 2-2 6; Katie Korioth 2-4 0-0 4; Kimmie Grimes 0-0 2-2 2; Kirstie McGillick 0-0 0-3 0; Allex Wilson 0-1 0-0 0; Ashley Shaw 0-2 0-0 0; Sharmeke Shaw 0-2 0-0 0; Elisa McInnes 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-39 11-16 55.

UT TYLER (13-7, 8-6) — Brittany King 3-7 6-9 12; Teylor Seals 2-8 4-4 9; Taylor Murphy 3-6 0-0 9; Olivia Burns 3-5 0-0 8; Danai Woods 3-8 2-4 8; Lauren Glasco 2-4 3-5 7; Breann McMillan 2-7 2-2 6; She’Cara Humphrey 2-2 2-2 6. Totals 20-47 19-26 65.

Halftime Score — UT Tyler 28, UT Dallas 27

3-point goals—UT Dallas 8-16 (Jo’Anna Davis 5-8; Amber Brown 2-3; Kellie Loukanis 1-4; Morgan Kilgore 0-1), UT Tyler 6-13 (Taylor Murphy 3-3; Olivia Burns 2-3; Teylor Seals 1-5; Danai Woods 0-2). Fouled out—UT Dallas-Katie Korioth, UT Tyler-None. Rebounds—UT Dallas 23 (Morgan Kilgore 4; Amber Brown 4), UT Tyler 26 (Lauren Glasco 6). Assists—UT Dallas 9 (Sharmeke Shaw 3), UT Tyler 9 (Danai Woods 5). Total fouls—UT Dallas 21, UT Tyler 16. Technical fouls—UT Dallas-None, UT Tyler-None. A-634.

———

UT Dallas 63, UT Tyler 54

TEXAS DALLAS (14-6, 9-5) — Nolan Harvey 1-6 4-5 6; Reese Dahse 1-1 2-2 5; Dmitriy Chernikov 2-6 7-8 11; Chris McOmber 1-5 2-4 5; Kyle Schleigh 10-17 1-2 24; Mike Timmins 1-1 0-0 2; Ryan Smith 1-1 0-0 3; Matthew Medell 4-4 0-2 8; Jacob VanNattan 0-0 0-1 0. Totals 21-41 16-24 63.

TEXAS-TYLER (14-6, 9-5) — Jordan Cannon 3-7 1-1 8; Travis Dykman 6-13 0-1 12; Joe Stephens 1-7 2-3 5; Darren Houliston 5-11 1-1 11; Tyler Hysell 2-3 2-2 6; Tre Potter 1-2 1-2 4; Nathan Harbour 0-0 0-0 0; Dallas Bean 0-1 3-4 3; Billy Hopson 2-5 0-0 5; tephen Ray 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-49 10-14.

Halftime Score — UT Dallas 29, UT Tyler 26

3-point goals—UT Dallas 5-11 (Scheligh 3-5, Smith 1-1, Dahse 1-1, McOmber 0-2, Harvey 0-1, Chernikov 0-1), UT Tyler 4-20 (Potter 1-2, Hopson 1-3, Cannon 1-5, Stpehens 1-6, Dykman 0-2, Houliston 0-2). Fouled out—UT Dallas-none, UT Tyler-Hopson. Rebounds—UT Dallas 30 (Schleigh 9), UT Tyler 24 (Houliston 5, Bean 5). Assists—UT Dallas 6 (Harvey 3), UT Tyler 8 (Stephens 3). Total fouls—UT Dallas 13, UT Tyler 21. Technical fouls—UT Dallas-None, UT Tyler-None. A-987.