The University of Texas at Tyler took Jarvis Christian into overtime, but fell 83-76 in their home opener before more than 1900 people on “Fans In The Stands” night.

In front of a raucous, packed house, both teams traded leads, with Jarvis holding a one-point advantage at halftime. The Bulldogs tied the game with 22 seconds remaining when senior Neville Storer hit one of two free throws to know the score. A Patriots possession ended with a missed three-pointer at the buzzer, and UT Tyler went to overtime.

The Patriots were outscored 12-5 in the extra frame, and Jarvis claimed the win. After the game, Patriots coach Matt Wallis lamented the squandered opportunity.

“Just a tough loss for us,” Wallis said. “We fought hard, but didn’t execute down the stretch like I’d hoped. I thought it would be a close game, and looking back now at what happened, we needed to execute at the end of regulation.”

The Patriots were led in scoring by Anthony Reese (SO/Longview, TX) with 12 points, and 10 from Jake White (SR/Longview, TX). The Patriots main offensive threat, senior Brandon Weasby (SR, Houston, TX) was held to only 5 points on the night, shooting 1-8 from three-point range. Weasby was scoreless in the first half.

“It’s kind of a rare night for Brandon Weasby,” Wallis said, “but that’s the way it goes sometimes. That gave a chance for some other guys to step up, we’ve just got to get in the gym and shoot a  little bit more and work on that.”

Wallis points to two factors in the overtime loss, starting with a 33-46 deficit in rebounding.

“Rebounding, that’s the thing we have to stress. We didn’t box out, and we didn’t shoot very well from the free throw line. We were 12 for 25, which is horrendous, so we’ve got to work on that.”

“It’s just a couple of things, but those missed box-outs down the stretch are what hurt us.”

The Patriots leading rebounders were Reese and Marlon Hill (JR/Port Arthur, TX), who each had 6.

UT Tyler used starting center Kevin Byrne (SR/Clinton, MS), with Keven Prather (SO.Corpus Christi, TX) and Anthony Hightower (JR/Houston, TX) to try and neutralize Jarvis’s Neville Storer. Storer held the edge, fouling out Byrne and putting Prather in foul trouble with three calls in less than two minutes in the first half.

Storer finished with 21 points and 15 rebounds to lead all players in both catgories.

The Patriots learning curve will be a steep one by necessity, as their next test will come Wednesday against Texas Lutheran in an American Southwest Conference battle.

That game will be at 4 p.m. at the Herrington Patriot Center, and also live on the UT Tyler Sports Network.

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