HAWKINS – The University of Texas at Tyler men’s basketball team opened its 2008-2009 season with a 63-57 loss to Jarvis Christian on Tuesday night in Hawkins.

The Patriots are now 0-6 all time in season openers and 0-3 all-time versus Jarvis.

Despite trailing 37-24 at the half, UT Tyler outscored the Bulldogs 33-26 in the second stanza. However, it was the Patriots’ 0-for-11 performance from behind the arch and 17-for-30 performance at the free throw line that eventually led to the loss.

Senior Anthony Reese (Longview, Texas) led all scorers with 19 points on the evening. Fellow senior Marlon Hill (Port Arthur, Texas) flowed close behind with 16 points of his own. Junior Hakeem Kareem (Houston, Texas) posted the first UT Tyler double-double of the season by recording 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Jarvis duo Mitchell Johnson and Wesley Matthews led their team by scoring 13 points each.

The Patriots will now travel to Richardson, Texas to compete in the 2008 Fred Jacoby I-20 Tip-Off Classic hosted by Texas-Dallas. UT Tyler will take on Guilford on Friday, followed by LSU-Shreveport on Saturday. Game time each day is 5:30 p.m.