Men's Basketball Falls to #5 Mary Hardin-Baylor
December 15, 2007

The University of Texas at Tyler men’s basketball team fell in their home opener on Saturday afternoon to fifth-ranked Mary Hardin-Baylor, 58-46.

The game started off bad for the Patriots as the Cru opened the game on 10-0 run, to give Mary Hardin-Baylor a lead they would never lose. The Cru would lead by as many as 22 in the first half and would take a 36-16 lead into the locker room at halftime. The Patriots shot just 12.5 percent from the floor in the first half. In the second half, the Patriots attempted to rally as they cut the lead to 12 twice in the period. In the end, however, the Cru proved to be too much and got the 58-46 victory.

Senior Michael Smith (Etta, Miss.) led the Patriots in scoring with nine points, while senior Marlon Hill (Port Arthur, Texas) and sophomore Hakeem Kareem led UT Tyler in rebounds with six a piece. Mary Hardin-Baylor senior Ryan Burgart (Huntsville, Texas) led all scorers with 13 points.

With the loss the Patriots fall to 2-5 on the season and 1-2 in the American Southwest Conference, while the Cru improves to 4-1 overall and a perfect 4-0 in conference play.

UT Tyler returns to action on Monday evening when they host Concordia (Tex.) at the Herrington Patriots Center for an ASC matchup. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

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