Men’s Basketball Picks Up Record Setting Win
February 16, 2007

The University of Texas at Tyler men’s basketball team took down East Texas Baptist, 70-63, on Saturday afternoon at the Herrington Patriot Center. The win was the seventh in a row for the Patriots, eclipsing the previous longest winning streak of six games set by the 2004-2005 UT Tyler squad.

In what would turn out to be one of the wildest games of the year, the Patriots were able to sink five of their final six free throws and stop a late ETBU rally to pick up the win. In total, the game saw 24 players take the court, 18 different players score, six ties, five technical fouls, four lead changes and two ejections.

Junior Marlon Hill (Port Arthur, Texas) led the Patriots with a game-high 19 points. Senior Patrick Branche (Houston, Texas) made his last game at the Herrington Patriot Center a memorable one by scoring 15 points and pulling down 14 rebounds. Branche now has 503 career rebound, making him the first player in program history to reach that milestone. Fellow senior Brandon Weasby (Houston, Texas) also had a memorable day scoring 13 points, with 11 of those coming at the free throw line. Junior Anthony Reese (Longview, Texas) rounded out the four double digit Patriots with 11 points. Junior Josh Hickman (Lavon, Texas) led the Tigers with 16 points.

With the win, the Patriots improve to 13-10 overall and 12-6 in the East Division of the American Southwest Conference, while the Tigers fall to 8-15 overall and 8-10 in the ASC East with the loss. The 13 wins ties the most in UT Tyler men’s basketball history. The win also guarantees the Patriots a spot in the upcoming ASC Tournament, hosted by Mary Hardin-Baylor, in just their first year of post-season eligibility

UT Tyler will start its final road trip of the regular season on Thursday at Louisiana College. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.

Athletics Home Page