Lone Star Conference basketball scheduling has created a new hurdle for teams during the 2020-21 season.
Teams play the same opponent twice in a two- or three-day span.
So just two days after UT Tyler went to Austin and lost 105-70 to St. Edward’s, the Patriots gave the Hilltoppers all they could handle on Saturday night at the Herrington Patriot Center.
In the end, though, the Patriots were kept out of the win column in LSC competition with an 85-80 setback to the No. 17 team in the country.
St. Edward’s led 81-80 in the final minute, and UT Tyler had the ball. The Patriots attempted an inbound pass from the sideline into the paint, and it resulted in a turnover. St. Edward’s capitalized with two free throws by B.J. Maxwell with 8.7 seconds on the clock.
Looking for a tying 3-pointer, UT Tyler turned the ball over once again, and Daniel Venzant sank two free throws to put the game away.
St. Edward’s entered the contest averaging 93.2 points per game and had scored more than 100 in its final two games.
St. Edward’s jumped ahead 10-3 early, but the Patriots battled back with a 10-2 run to go ahead 13-12.
Da’Zhon Wyche hit two free throws with less than a second on the clock to give UT Tyler a 37-36 lead at halftime.
UT Tyler led for more than five minutes in the second half before Division I transfers Kijana Love and Maxwell hit consecutive 3-pointers to put St. Edward’s in front, 52-49.
With the score at 58-52 in favor of St. Edward’s, the Patriots then went on a 14-0 run to grab a 66-58 lead with 8:30 to play.
The Patriots were up 71-66 with six minutes remaining when the Hilltoppers went on a 7-1 spurt to go up 73-72 with 3:57 to play on a layup by Logan Cook.
Two free throws by Wyche put the Patriots back ahead, but Maxwell knocked down a jumper and two free throws to give St. Edward’s the lead for good.
Maxwell, who previously played at Detroit Mercy, led St. Edward’s (5-1, 3-1) with 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Venzant had 18 points and six assists.
Sean Phillips, a former standout at All Saints Episcopal School, played 2:24 in the contest and attempted one shot.
“These back-to-backs are a grind,” Phillips said. “They’re not always going to be pretty, but we scored more points than they did, and that’s all that matters.”
Phillips is a senior entrepreneurship major who may have been playing his final collegiate game in Tyler. All seniors will be granted an extra year of eligibility after this season, and Phillips said it just depends on his graduate school situation if he plays another year. Whether it was his final time to play in his hometown or not, he said he enjoyed the experience and support.
“I had the All Saints community out here, even during these troubling times,” he said. “It was great to see all of the parents, community and all of the old coaches — Coach (Eddie) Francis, (Brian) Jones and (Jeremy) Tatum.”
Soloman Thomas led UT Tyler (1-6, 0-6) with 17 points. Wyche had 15 points. Milan Szabo scored 14 points. Micah Fuller and Emanuel Gant had 11 points each, and Gant pulled down 11 rebounds.
UT Tyler will play at Midwestern State on Jan. 15 and 16 in Wichita Falls.
WOMEN St. Edward’s 64, UT Tyler 37
The scoring woes continued for the Patriots on Saturday as they fell to the Hilltoppers at the Herrington Patriot Center.
It was UT Tyler’s third game scoring fewer than 40 points, and their season-high total is 48 points.
Two days after a 73-35 loss at St. Edward’s, the Patriots shot 23.2 percent from the field.
UT Tyler hung around early and trailed 16-11 after the first quarter.
The Hilltoppers opened the second quarter with a 17-2 run to go up by 20. The Patriots then went on a 6-0 run, but St. Edward’s got a layup by Charli Becker in the final seconds to make the sore 35-19 at halftime.
St. Edward’s led 54-35 at the end of three quarters.
There were only four five field goals made in the final quarter. St. Edwards’s was 4 of 10, and UT Tyler was 1 of 11.
Becker led St. Edward’s (2-4, 2-2) with 14 points.
Taylor Jackson, a freshman from McKinney who hit nine 3-pointers and scored 30 points in a playoff game against Tyler Lee last season, led UT Tyler (0-4, 0-4) with 15 points and three made 3-pointers.
UT Tyler will play at Midwestern State on Jan. 15 and 16 in Wichita Falls.
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MEN
St. Edward’s 85, UT Tyler 80
SEU 36 49 — 85
UTT 37 43 — 80
ST. EDWARD’S (5-1, 3-1) — Jake Krafka 13; Logan Cook 8; B.J. Maxwell 20, Daniel Venzant 18; Ryan Garza 9; Kijana Love 11; Carson Murphy 3; Marcus Hill 3; Sean Phillips 0.
UT TYLER (1-6, 0-6) — Roche Grootfaam 3; Emanuel Gant 11; Micah Fuller 11; Da’Zhon Wyche 15; Soloman Thomas 17; Darius Alford 9; Milan Szabo 14; Jalen Davis 0; DJ Jones 0.
FREE THROWS — St. Edwards 19-25; UT Tyler 25-32.
3-POINTERS — St. Edwards 12-28 (Love 3-4, Krafka 3-5); UT Tyler 5-16 (Fuller 2-3).
REBOUNDS — St. Edward’s 31 (Cook 10); UT Tyler 31 (Gant 11).
ATTENDANCE — 386.
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WOMEN
St. Edwards 64, UT Tyler 37
SEU 16 19 19 10 — 64
UTT 11 8 16 2 — 37
ST. EDWARD’S (2-4, 2-2) — Sammie Sufek 4; D’aviyon Magazine 7; Charli Becker 14; Christina Mason 8; Jazmine Jackson 4; McCall Hampton 7; Lauren Catherman 7; Morgan Gary 4; Ronnie Cantu ; Justina Chan 7; Kayla Harris 2.
UT TYLER (0-4, 0-4) — Taylor Jackson 15; Shala Robinson 4; Niah Richard 4; Kayla James 4; Tyreesha Blaylock 2; Josephine Elliott 2; Madison Davis 2; Shequana Jackson 4; Jazmin George 0; Lauren Cortines 0; Inessa Pugh 0; Carah Burdette 2.
FREE THROWS — St. Edwards 11-15; UT Tyler 8-12.
3-POINTERS — St. Edwards 7-27 (Becker 2-5, Mason 2-8); UT Tyler 3-16 (Jackson 3-7).
REBOUNDS — St. Edward’s 43 (Jackson 7); UT Tyler 41 (Richard 7).
ATTENDANCE — 162.