RICHARDSON, TX (01.18.18) - A second-half letdown again came back to bite the UT Dallas men's basketball team, leading UT Tyler to a 73-59 win over the Comets in American Southwest Conference East Division play Thursday night at the UTD Activity Center.

The Patriots (13-4, 6-4 ASC) shot a blistering 53.13 percent (17-of-32) after halftime, erasing a 32-27 UTD halftime lead. Meanwhile, the Comets (9-6, 5-3 ASC) hit just 10-of-33 shots from the field in the second period and had to watch UTT go on a 20-7 run over a seven-minute span that put them in control.

The loss overshadowed a seven-point night by senior guard Caleb Banks, who became only the ninth player in UTD history to surpass the 1,000-point plateau in his career.

The win was UT Tyler's third in a row while UTD dropped its second straight, falling behind the Patriots into fourth place in the ASC East race.

After a slow start by both teams, the Comets forced a 14-14 tie midway through the first period on a Dimitrius Underwood layup, then went on an 8-0 run of their own to take a 21-14 lead with 5:53 remaining in the first half. Curtis Allen's three-pointer :34 into the second half followed by a Reagan Keogh layup gave UTD it's largest lead (37-29) with 18:09 remaining.

But five minutes later, the Patriots had tied the score at 43-43, then went on a 20-7 run over a 7:46 span that put them on top, 63-50, with 5:29 left. Another Allen three-pointer got UTD back within 11 (70-59), but that was as close as they could get.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
The Patriots continually stopped UTD momentum swings with 8-of-22 three-point shooting while the Comets hit just 3-of-19. Overall, UTD hit just 24-of-68 (35.3 percent) from the field. The Comets did win the rebounding battle, 46-39

KEY PERFORMERS:
Underwood notched another double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds, but he was the only Comet in double figures. UT Tyler had four players in double figures, paced by Josh Tatum's 20-point effort.

UP NEXT:
UTD will try to right the ship Saturday afternoon when they host the University of the Ozarks at 4:00 pm.