RICHARDSON, TX (02.18.17) - The UT Dallas men's basketball team will not only be heading to a 14th straight American Southwest Conference Tournament next week, but the Comets will serve as the No. 2 seed out of the league's East Division after a 93-87 home win over Texas-Tyler Saturday to close out the regular season.

With Saturday's win, the Comets (11-14, 8-8 ASC) forced a tie for second place in the East with UTT and will now open the ASC Tournament Thursday against West Division No. 3 seed Mary Hardin-Baylor. Game time is 12 p.m. in Longview on the campus of LeTourneau University.

Jon Hatcher finished with 22 points while Dapo Ogunfetimi added 21 points as four Comets topped double figures. Hatcher was 7-for-14 from the field and 5-for-9 from three-point range while Ogunfeitimi was 7-for-11 from the floor and hit 4-of-7 treys. Ben Smith came off the bench for 16 points while Dimitrius Underwood had 15 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Comet point guard Caleb Banks finished with seven points and 11 assists.

UTD got off to a blazing hot start, outscoring the visiting Patriots, 22-3, over the first 5:43 of the contest. Ogunfeitimi scored th first seven points of the game before Hatcher drained back-to-back three-pointers to give the Comets a 13-3 lead at the 16:33 mark. The duo scored 20 of the Comets' first 22 points as the Comets had their largest lead of the game with 14:17 left in the first half.

The Comets led by double digits for the most of the first half before UTT rallied late in the period to draw within six points before UTD secured a 48-41 lead at the break. Hatcher hit a three on the first possession of the second half to return the Comets to a double-digit lead, 51-41, before UTT rolled off 12-4 run over the next four minutes to claw within two points, 55-53, after an Alan Long lay up.

UTD answered with eight straight points and then would grab a 66-56 lead with 12:49 on the clock after Hatcher's final three pointer. The Patriots made one final charge late in the game, drawing within five points twice in the final minute of the game.

The Comets ended the game shooting 47.5 percent (28-of-59) as a team, connecting on 11-of-28 three-pointers (39.3%), and shot 76.5 percent (26-of-34) from the free-throw line.

UTD opened the season 3-13 and earned just two wins in its first nine conference games, but the Comets finished the regular season as winners of eight of their final nine games to climb from outside the playoff picture to the No. 2 seed.