Patriots split Holiday Hoopla games
Published 1:18 am Monday, December 15, 2025
All that was missing were snow flurries as UT Tyler hosted Holiday Hoopla at the Herrington Patriot Center.
On a Saturday in which the Patriots played a basketball doubleheader, Santa and Mrs. Claus was on hand and fans were treated to hot chocolate and cookies as well as Reindeer Games and Ugly Sweater contests. There was even a snowball toss.
There was also a canned food and toy drive. Fans were granted free admission with donations as well as a Patriot beanie with a toy donation.
Donations from the canned food drive support both the UT Tyler Food Pantry and PATH (People Attempting to Help). The UT Tyler Food Pantry provides supplemental assistance for students, employees, and community members throughout the year. PATH, founded in 1985, serves over 25,000 individuals in Smith County and offers personalized support to connect families with the resources they need.
The toy drive was held in partnership with the UT Tyler Police Department to benefit the Children’s Advocacy Center of Smith County (CAC). The CAC is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting and restoring the lives of children who have experienced abuse by coordinating investigative services, medical care, and healing programs under one roof.
It was a festive day.
As far as basketball, UT Tyler split the Lone Star Conference matchup with St. Edward’s.
In the women’s game, the Patriots rallied for a 53-47 overtime win over the Hilltoppers. In the men’s game, the visitors from Austin won over UT Tyler 70-55.
WOMEN
The Patriots outscored the Hilltoppers 13-7 in the fourth quarter to force OT tied at 43-43. UT Tyler outscored St. Ed’s 10-4 in the extra period.
Leila Davis led the Patriots (6-4, 2-1) with 25 points and 12 rebounds. Hayley Cumming added 15 points.
Suni Davis paced the Hilltoppers (6-3, 2-1) with 16 points.
The Patriots were 6 (Cumming, 3; Davis, 1; Mariah Neal, 1; Nikolina Vukevic, 1) of 21 from 3-point, while the Hilltoppers were 3 (Davis, 1; Kianna Bennett, 1; Ramsey Robledo, 1) of 24.
From the free throw line, UT Tyler was 7 of 10 and St. Edward’s was 10 of 14.
The Patriots return to play on Dec. 17 and 18 at the Herrington Patriot Center for the DII Christmas Tournament. Along with UT Tyler, three other teams are competing.
On Wednesday, Fort Lewis of Durango, Colorado (7-3) plays Maryville of St. Louis (8-2) at noon, followed by UT Tyler playing Adams State of Alamosa, Colorado (9-3) at 2 p.m.
On Thursday, Maryville meets Adams State at noon and UT Tyler plays Fort Lewis at 2 p.m.
MEN
St. Edward’s jumped out to an early lead and cruised to the win.
The Hilltoppers improved to 11-1 overall and 2-1 in LSC, while the Patriots fell to 4-3 and 0-3.
UT Tyler was led by Kyle Morgan (13 points, 8 rebounds), Sam Phipps (10 points) and Xavier Williams (9 points).
Jaimson Kay (16 points), Blake Nielson (15 points) and Ryder Bradley (15 points) led the Hilltoppers. Sam McKinney added 11 points.
The Patriots were 6 (Morgan, 3; Jacob Bell, 1; John Barbee, 1; Chris Carpenter, 1) of 24 from 3-point, while the Hilltoppers were 9 (Kay, 4; Robert Conrad, 2; Nielson, 1; Bradley, 1; McKinney, 1) of 27.
From the free throw line, UT Tyler was 3 of 5 and St. Edward’s was 11 of 14.
The UT Tyler men now travel to Puerto Rico for a couple of games on Wednesday (2 p.m. vs. Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras at Bayamón) and Thursday (6 p.m. vs. Puerto Rico-Bayamón at Caguas).