Men’s Basketball Rolls By Louisiana College, Secures No. 2 Seed
February 21, 2008

PINEVILLE, La. – The UT Tyler men’s basketball team upended Louisiana College, 75-64, Thursday night at H.O. West Fieldhouse, giving the Patriots their eighth-straight win.

The victory, along with the UT Dallas loss to Mississippi College, ensures the Patriots a No. 2 seed in the American Southwest Conference Men’s Championship Tournament next weekend in Belton.

Paced by a game-high 20 points from Anthony Reese, including nine in the first half, the Patriots battled back from a 15-point deficit midway through the first to take a 32-30 lead into the break 

Down 22-7 at the 11:36 mark in the first, a jumper by Patrick Branche and a three by Brandon Weasby cut the LC lead to 10 and Reese scored the Patriots’ next six points.

Mike Smith hit a jumper at 4:21 to tie the game at 26 and, after battling back and forth for the rest of the half, Reese’s three-pointer just before the break put UT Tyler up by two.

A balanced offensive attack combined with a defensive effort that didn’t allow a LC field goal for almost 10 minutes helped the Patriots push their lead to as many as 20 in the second half.

Smith had 14 points for the Patriots while Jeff Cotton had a team-high seven rebounds.

The win, which moves the Patriots to 14-10 overall and 13-6 in the ASC East, also made UT Tyler history.  The victory means that first-year head coach Kenny Bizot’s team now holds the record for most wins in a season with 14. 

Louisiana College falls to 9-14 on the season and 8-11 in conference play. The loss also drops LC into a tie for fifth place with East Texas Baptist.

UT Tyler wraps up the regular season Saturday at Mississippi College.

Athletics Home Page