TYLER, Texas –Texas A&M International men's basketball has seen its share of close contests in 2021-22 and had yet another, as they defeated UT Tyler in an overtime thriller, 70-66 to end a three-game skid.
 
The Patriots (11-5, 3-4 LSC) held the early edge in the first half, opening the game with an 8-3 lead.
 
The Dustdevils (10-5, 2-2 LSC) would respond to take a 9-8 after a run of 6-0.
 
From there, the teams battled with UT Tyler holding the edge before growing its lead to eight points on two separate occasions.
 
Over the final 6:19 of the half, TAMIU outscored the Patriots 13-5 to turn a 27-19 deficit into a 32-32 tie at the break.
 
To open the second half, UT Tyler again used a quick spurt to gain a 40-35 lead, using a run of 8-3 just like the opening minutes of the first half.
 
A 7-0 run by the Dustdevils followed, as the took a 42-40 lead. The run lasted nearly five minutes, stretching from 16:49 to 12:14 remaining.
 
The teams then battled back and forth until the Patriots took a 50-46 lead with 9:16 remaining.
 
TAMIU would again use another 6-0 run to regain the lead 51-50 with 6:09 remaining and then grow the lead to 55-52 at the under four-minute timeout that came with exactly four minutes remaining.
 
Over the remaining minutes, UT Tyler fought back to tie the game 59-59. After drawing an offensive foul with 5.6 seconds remaining, the Dustdevils had one shot that rimmed out to send the game to overtime.
 
In the overtime, a single free-throw by each side opened the scoring, before TAMIU went on a 4-1 run to open a 64-61 lead.
 
With that lead intact under with 38 seconds to go, the Dustdevils added to its lead with free-throws to make it 66-61.
 
In a flash, the Patriots trimmed the deficit to 66-64 with a three-pointer with 14.5 seconds remaining, TAMIU managed hold serve and won its first overtime game of the season in three tries in extra time.
 
The Dustdevils would overcome a tough shooting night, going 19-for-55 (34.5%) from the floor and 6-for-25 (24%) from deep. The free-throw line won them the game, shooting 26-for-33 for the game
 
On the other end, UT Tyler shot 23-for-56 (41.1%) from the field and 10-for-22 (45.5%) from three. However, the Patriots were just 10-for-19 from the charity stripe and turned the ball over 18 times to just 10 for TAMIU.
 
Senior Greg Bowie II led the charge, scoring 22 points, followed by freshman Anthony Scott who had 14 points.
 
Junior La-Quiem Walker chipped in 11 points and eight rebounds with sophomore Tyrese Davis adding eight points.
 
TAMIU now looks to make it a winning streak, when they face Texas A&M-Commerce on Saturday, Jan. 29. Opening tip is scheduled for 4 p.m. from Commerce, Texas.