CLARKSVILLE, Ark. — The UT Tyler basketball teams split an American Southwest Conference doubleheader with Ozarks on Saturday.
In the first game, She’Cara Humphrey and Brittany King combined for 35 points and 13 rebounds as the Patriots (3-1, 1-0) scored a 78-69 win over the Lady Eagles (1-3, 0-1).
In the men’s game, the Patriots (1-2, 0-1) fell to the Eagles (3-1, 1-0), 64-61.
The Patriots take on rival UT Dallas on Thursday at the Herrington Patriot Center. The women play at 5:30 p.m., followed by the men at 7:30 p.m.
WOMEN
The Patriots dominated play in the early stages of the game, jumping out to a 21-5 lead at the 13:46 mark after a Danai Woods layup.
UT Tyler continued to build a lead over Ozarks, going up by 23 points at the 7:16 mark on a Jasmine Baskin jumper, making the score 39-16.
The Eagles were able to close the gap at the end of the first half when Ashley Hipps connected on two free throws, making the score 44-31 at the break.
In the second half, Ozarks fought back to make it a close contest, putting pressure on the Patriots from the start.
After going down by 15 just 2:30 minutes in, the Eagles stormed back, taking a 65-64 lead with 5:12 remaining.
Trailing by one, the Patriots reeled off 10 unanswered points, going up 74-65 with 1:44 remaining in the game.
Humphrey led UT Tyler with 20 points, while King added 15. Other top scorers were McMillan (9), Teylor Seals (9) and Woods (9). Seals had eight boards, while King and Madison Wilson had seven apiece.
MEN
Travis Dykman and Joe Stephens finished with 15 and 17 points, respectively, to lead the Patriots.
UT Tyler fell down by as many as nine points in the first half to Ozarks squad, but closed the gap to 14-11 on an Owen Osazuwa layup with 10:12 to play in the first half.
After the Patriots cut the Eagles’ lead to 26-24 with 2:50 to play in the first, Ozarks went on a 7-0 run to go up 33-24 before Demarcus Metcalf hit a 3 to make the score 33-27 at the half.
In the second, Tyler Hysell hit a free throw to tie the score at 39-39 with 15:52 remaining, but once again, the Eagles were able to pull away, going on an 8-0 run.
UT Tyler took its first lead of the game with 2:40 to play on a jumper by Dykman, but the Eagles scored the last five points of the game, holding the Patriots scoreless and winning 64-61.
In the loss, Hysell led the team with 11 rebounds to go with nine points, while Stephon Hall and Tre Potter each finished with three assists.