Tyler 97, Angelina 88 3-pointers abound for Tyler

When Tyler opened the game with four straight threes and built a quick 14-0 lead, AC's Roadrunners figured out very quickly why the Apaches are undefeated this season.

Six different Tyler players hit three-pointers - the Apaches finished with a 15-for-25 for the game - to knock off the 'Runners 97-88 on Saturday.

Tyler's Joseph Fulce went 3-for-3 from beyond the arc on his way to 27 points. Jimmy Butler added 23, and Alan Branch and Malcolm Thomas chipped in 12 points each for the Apaches.

AC's Brandon Moton joined the trey parade, hitting for 7-of-11 of his three-point attempts to finish with 25 points. Jerrod Tillman led the Roadrunners with 27, but he and Moton were the only AC players to finish in double figures.

Tyler appeared early to be on its way to a real blowout, extending that early lead to 17 points by the 10:46 mark of the first half. But the young 'Runners put together a 20-4 scoring run to cut that lead to a single point with just 2:57 before the break.

That would be as close as AC would get all night, with Tyler racking up an 11-0 run early in the second half to maintain control the rest of the way.

"I'm proud of the way our guys hung in there and battled all night," head coach Todd Neighbors said. "That's a good team Tyler has, and there's a reason they're undefeated this season.

"We just had some matchup problems with some of our personnel. We'll just have to try and steal one at home when they come to town."

AC falls to 3-10, 2-3 for the season, while Tyler remains spotless at 12-0, 5-0.

The Roadrunners will have another tough road test on Wednesday in Corsicana, taking on Navarro College at 7 p.m.