SAN ANGELO – The Angelo State University Athletic Department today announced the hiring of Vinay Patel to lead the ASU Rams men’s basketball program as its new head coach.

Patel brings 17 years of coaching experience to ASU, most recently serving as the head coach at Northwestern Oklahoma State University, where he led the Rangers to a 20-9 overall record and one of the biggest turnarounds in NCAA Division II last season.

“We are so excited to have Coach Patel join Angelo State as the next head men’s basketball coach, said ASU Director of Athletics James Reid. “Vinay brings a wealth of experience and success to the university and program, including time spent in the Lone Star Conference. Coach Patel’s background and commitment to excellence make him a great fit for our Athletic Department and university. We are excited to welcome him and his family into the Ram Fam!”

Prior to NWOSU, Patel spent four seasons at Oklahoma City University and compiled an overall record of 82-42. He led the Stars to a Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament championship in 2018-19 and a share of the regular-season championship in 2017-18. The Stars advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NAIA Tournament two years in a row while making the tournament all four years.

Patel was named the Sooner Athletic Conference and Oklahoma Sports Net Coach of the Year in 2018 when the Stars finished with a 24-9 mark and ranked No. 8 in the NAIA.

“I am honored and humbled to be given the opportunity to be the next head coach at Angelo State University,” Patel said. “I would like to thank President Ronnie Hawkins and Athletic Director James Reid for allowing me to lead such a storied basketball program. This is a dream come true for me! My family and I are excited to be a part of the community of San Angelo and the Ram Family!” Emphasizing success both on the court and in the classroom, Patel’s squads at NWOSU and OCU both recorded the highest team GPA in program history. He also coached four NAIA All-Americans and the SAC Player of the Year at OCU while eight former players have gone on to sign professional contracts.

No stranger to the Lone Star Conference, Patel started his coaching career at West Texas A&M University as a graduate assistant in 2005 before working his way up to associate head coach in 2013. In eight seasons on staff, Patel helped lead the Buffs to a 164-93 record and five NCAA Division II Tournament appearances.

“I would also like to thank everyone at Northwestern Oklahoma State for the past three years,” Patel added. “I was fortunate to work with a special group of people daily, and they are the reason for this incredible opportunity. I am excited to be back in the Lone Star Conference and am ready to get to work!”

A native of Shamrock, Texas, Patel received his Master of Science degree in sports and exercise science from WTAMU in 2007, and he holds a Bachelor of Science degree in exercise and sports science from Texas Tech University.

An introductory press conference will be held at 10 a.m. on Monday, May 2, in the VIP Room of the ASU Junell Center to welcome Coach Patel and his family

The post Angelo State announces Vinay Patel as new men’s basketball coach appeared first on Texas Sports.

DALLAS – Parrish Hewitt began his career as a Pioneer by scoring a game-high 17 points and grabbing nine rebounds to lead Wayland Baptist to a 66-52 Sooner Athletic Conference victory over North Texas-Dallas here Thursday.

Wayland opened a 37-23 halftime lead then cruised in the second half as the Pioneers (8-9, 4-6 SAC) picked up a much-needed win over the Trailblazers (7-10, 3-7), snapping a four-game slide that include a pair of forfeit losses.

“I’m proud of how our guys have handled the adversity we’ve been through the last two weeks with COVID. We were locked in and had one of our best defensive efforts of the year,” Wayland coach Clint Galyean said.

Hewitt, a senior guard from Memphis, Tenn., who transferred from Northwestern Oklahoma State, spurred the Pioneers, who also got nine points from Thad Udoh and eight from Javorian Miller. Jaxon Recer pulled down nine boards and Jibrael Washington recorded half of WBU’s season-best 10 blocks.

The Trailblazers, in their second season and first in the SAC, were led by Vernon Johnson’s 12 points.

Wayland held a 44-35 edge on the boards and hit 16-of-22 free throws.

The 52 points by the Trailblazers represented the third-lowest output by an opponent this season, behind only 37 by Dallas Christian and 39 by Calvary Bible.

Both the Pioneers and Trailblazers struggled from the 3-point line, combining to go 0-for-11 in the second half. Wayland hit 4-of-9 from long range in the first half, the makes coming from four different players.

Next for the Pioneers is a match against 12^th-ranked Southwestern Assemblies of God University at 4 p.m. Saturday in Waxahachie. The league-leading Lions (12-3, 9-1) defeated Oklahoma-Panhandle State on Thursday, 86-68.

“Saturday is our biggest challenge of the year so far going to SAGU,” Galyean said. “We need to get some things cleaned up on the offensive side and play with the same intensity defensively.”

The post Hewitt debuts, lead Pioneers to much-needed win appeared first on Texas Sports.

WICHITA FALLS – UT Tyler exploded for 43 second-half points to negate a halftime deficit and move to 7-0 for the first time in program history with a 75-63 win over Midwestern State on Monday night in Wichita Falls, Texas.

The non-conference win over the Mustangs betters the 6-0 start to the season for the 2017-18 UT Tyler team, establishing the best start in UT Tyler men’s basketball history for the 2021-22 Patriots. Graduate student Eysan Wiley led the charge back from a 36-32 Midwestern State first-half advantage with 18 second-half points, connecting on 5-of-6 from the field in the half alone in route to 22 points for the game.

The Patriots connected on 13-of-27 from the field in the final 20 minutes, and held Midwestern State to 0-for-14 from beyond the three-point line in the second half while continually pushing forward with steady offense. UT Tyler scored the first two baskets of the second half on jumpers from Micah Fuller and Milan Szabo, the second of which from Szabo knotted the game up at 36-36 with 18:35 left in the game.

Another dunk from Szabo and a successful and-one opportunity for Fuller capped off the seven unanswered for UT Tyler out of the halftime break and established a 41-36 lead for the Patriots. Midwestern State settled in after the hot second-half start for the Patriots and kept the deficit to around a one-possession ball game before Eysan began his second-half onslaught of scoring at the 12:48 mark.

Eysan changed the course of the remaining of the contest at that point with a jump-shot make and then three-consecutive made three-point buckets to break open the game at 57-46 with 10:28 left on the clock. That turning point allowed UT Tyler to control the tempo for the remainder of the contest with the lead firmly in tact, and led by as many as 13 on three different occasions in the final 10 minutes of play.

Midwestern State narrowed the margin to just seven with 1:14 remaining, but were eventually held at a comfortable distance thanks to 14 free-throw makes in the second half by the Patriots.

Szabo added 14 points and nine rebounds to help compliment the solid outing from Wiley, who’s 22-point total on Monday night is the second time the graduate transfer has gone for 20 or more points this season. Szabo has now reached double-digit scoring totals in three out of his last four games and has totaled nine rebounds in each of the last two wins for the Patriots.

Senior Da’Zhon Wyche scored 10 points to follow up consecutive 19-point outings against Mississippi College and Dallas Baptist in the last two Patriot victories.

UT Tyler finished the game 25-of-53 (47.2 percent) from the field and went 6-for-16 (37.5 percent) from behind the three-point line. The Patriots won the rebounding battle for the sixth time in seven games this season, finishing with 40 while Midwestern State had 33.

The Patriots will return home with their undefeated 7-0 record on Thursday of this week to begin a two-game home stand. Thursday’s game is set for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off against UAFS and Saturday’s game is scheduled for a 4 p.m. tip against Oklahoma Christian.

Thursday’s game against UAFS will consistent of a toy drive hosted by the UT Tyler Police Department. The UT Tyler Police Department is asking that attendees please bring a new unwrapped toy for donation. Each toy brought to the women’s or men’s game will equal one free entry into that night’s contests. Only new and unwrapped toys will be accepted.

The post Patriots MBB off to best start in program history appeared first on Texas Sports.

COMMERCE – A fast start and a disciplined finish allowed UT Tyler to move to 5-0 for the first time since 2017-18 on Saturday afternoon thanks to a 72-64 win over Mississippi College to close out play in the 2021 Lion Hoopsgiving.

The Patriots finish 2-0 in the event hosted by Texas A&M-Commerce over the weekend, and used 17 first half points from senior Da’Zhon Wyche to pad a 41-28 halftime lead. Mississipi College made it a one-possession ballgame with just over 10 minutes remaining in the game, but couldn’t overcome the hot start from Wyche and company to allow UT Tyler to pull away in the final minutes.

Wyche connected on all five of his three-point attempts in the first half to help spur a 19-6 run midway through the first 20 minutes of play that opened up a 27-14 advantage for UT Tyler with 6:52 remaining in the half. The Patriots led by as many as 15 in the opening half, a margin which would stand as their largest lead of the game, after Wyche’s fifth three-point bucket of the half connected with 33 seconds left before the halftime break.

The 41-28 halftime margin turned out to be much-needed as Mississippi College scored seven straight points coming out of the half and effectively erased the UT Tyler lead, trailing just 49-48 with 11:08 remaining in the game.

The 20-8 run for the Choctaws in the first 10 minutes of the second half woke the Patriots up quickly as they scored six straight unanswered points from that point and never let the lead slip back to less than five for the remainder of the game. The Patriots led by 10 twice in the final eight minutes, and connected on all seven of their free throw attempts in the second half.

Wyche finished with 19 for the game, leading all Patriot scorers, while Milan Szabo, Micah Fuller and Eysan Wiley all reached double-digit offensive figures. Szabo finished 6-of-8 from the field for 12 points while Wiley and Fuller each totaled 11 points on the afternoon.

UT Tyler finished with a team shooting percentage north of 50 percent for the fourth time in five games so far in 2021-22, knocking down 26-of-51 attempts (51.0 percent) from the field. Wyche was the lone Patriot to convert on a three-point opportunity for the contest, but the UT Tyler defense allowed just three makes from three-point range to the opposition.

Both sides had 28 rebounds on the day, as Wiley led all rebounders in the affair with seven boards.

UT Tyler will now square off with Lone Star Conference opponents for the remainder of their schedule, however the first four games against Dallas Baptist, Midwestern State, UAFS and Oklahoma Christian will be contested as non-conference games. The first of those two games against DBU and Midwestern State will take place on Dec. 11^th and Dec. 13^th on the road, while the latter two will occur on Dec. 13^th and 16^th inside the Herrington Patriot Center.

The post Fast start leads Patriots to first 5-0 start since 2017-2018 appeared first on Texas Sports.