MARSHALL, Texas – Winning two big American Southwest Conference games last week at home, the East Texas Baptist University men's basketball team will hit the road for two games. ETBU will first travel to Tyler, Texas for a matchup against the Patriots, then round out the road trip with an American Southwest Conference East Division meeting with the University of the Ozarks. ETBU is 8-9 overall and 6-4 in ASC East play.
 
ETBU enters this week's round of matchups after impressive victories over Louisiana College and Belhaven University. The Tigers dismantled the Wildcats on Thursday night, 94-80, shooting a scorching 56.4 percent from the field and 55 percent from beyond the arc, connecting on 16 three pointers in the game. Christopher Haynes led the Tigers with 21 points on 7-of-9 shooting. ETBU followed that win with a stifling performance against the Blazers on Saturday. The Tigers scored 58 second half points, and tallied nine blocked shots and 13 steals in the 95-61 rout. Robby Dooley and Nathan Fontenot each added 17 points for the Tigers.
 
As a team, ETBU averages 82.1 points per game, while shooting a solid 48 percent from the field. The Tigers have also connected on 38.5 percent of their three point shots as a team this season. Dooley leads ETBU's offensive effort, pouring in an average of 18.3 points per game on 56.5 percent from the floor and 38.7 percent from beyond the arc. Dooley also leads the team on the glass, averaging 6.8 rebounds per game. Nathan Fontenot ranks second on the team in averaging 11.7 points per game to go along with 40.2 percent shooting from the three point line. Haynes rounds out the team's top scorers with an average of 10.7 points per game on 71 percent shooting from the field.
 
UT Tyler enters Thursday night's matchup with an overall record of 8-10 on the season. In the overall season series, ETBU leads UT Tyler, 17-13, as the two teams split the last season series, with the Tigers winning at home 80-79 behind a game-winning three pointer by Westin Riddick at home. The Patriots bounced back and took a 90-83 win over ETBU on their home floor in the final game. Darius Alford leads UT Tyler with 19.2 points per game.  
 
The Tigers will conclude the two game road trip with a matchup against the University of the Ozarks in Clarksville, Ark., on Saturday afternoon. Ozarks is 4-14 overall and 3-6 in the ASC East. In the overall season series, ETBU owns the dominant edge, 29-12. The Tigers have defeated the Eagles in 12 consecutive games, including winning both matchups 91-71 and 93-78 last season. Bryson Johnson leads UO's offensive effort with 12.5 points per game.
 
"Last week we really talked about sleeping through the storms. Our guys have done a fantastic job of being resilient, playing with tons of energy and fighting through adversity. We played well this past weekend and some things are really starting to click. We're just trying to continue to improve and Thursday will present us with a great opportunity," said head coach Brandon Curran.
 
The Tigers will kick-off the road trip with a meeting with the UT Tyler Patriots on Thursday, Jan. 24. The game is set to tip-off at 7:30 p.m. from the Louise Herrington Patriot Center.