Clarksville, Ark.-The Eagles roared back from a 14-point halftime deficit to win their second straight American Southwest Conference road game, this time handing UT-Tyler a 78-66 setback Saturday in Tyler, Texas.
The Patriots (8-9, 8-4) owned the first half, never giving up the lead, and finishing with a 42-28 advantage at intermission. Jeremy Clark’s jumper with 8:31 left in the half got Ozarks (9-8, 7-5) to within 25-20, but UT-Tyler outscored the Eagles 17-8 the rest of the way. The second half belonged to Ozarks as they opened with a 21-9 run to tie the contest 51-51 with 11:39 remaining. Chris Williams hit from inside and out, scoring eight points, and Jeremy Clark helped fuel the run with seven points, during that span. From there, the Eagles eventually took the lead on Blake Mitchem’s free throws with 10:16 left. It would be a lead they wouldn’t relinquish even though the Patriots cut it to one-point twice. With the Eagles up 64-61, Colby Woolverton drilled a three-pointer to take back momentum with 1:53 left. UT-Tyler then sent the Eagles to the free throw line 12 times in the remaining 1:19 of the game and Ozarks responded by hitting 11 freebies to seal the game.
The Eagles clearly won the turnover battle, forcing UT-Tyler into 14 miscues. Ozarks took care of the ball throughout the game committing only three turnovers. Ozarks shot 57 percent from the field in the second half and 88 percent from the free throw line. Ozarks ended the second half outscoring UT-Tyler 50-24.
Williams scored 19 points, 14 in the second half, and pulled down 7 rebounds in the win. He was 4-for-4 from the three-point line. Andre Williams added 16 points and Jeremy Clark went for 13 points.
Ozarks will travel to Clinton, Mississippi, to face Mississippi College January 29.
Topics: Athletics