SEGUIN, Texas -- In Texas Lutheran's Memorial Gymnasium, Zach Behr scored 17 and Sterling Holmes added 15 as the Texas Lutheran Bulldogs opened 2015-16 with an 83-67 home win Sunday night over the University of Texas at Tyler.

UT Tyler, out of the American Southwest Conference, dropped to 0-1 with the loss in its season-opener.

The Bulldogs, the defending champion of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, led 36-28 at the half and pulled away late with a 47-39 edge in the second half.

The Bulldogs hit 51.7 percent of their total shots in the second half and held UT Tyler to 35.3 percent. The Patriots shot 35.9 percent for the game and were 5-for-22 from the three-point line.

TLU shot 49.1 percent for the game and had 13 assists on 28 made field goals.

TLU also shot 22 three-pointers and made eight of them. Behr, Jordan Kouremetis and Paris Marquez each hit a pair of threes.

Kouremetis chipped in nine points and three rebounds, and Blake Ray and Matthew Gillette each scored eight. Harris Jowell led TLU with eight rebounds. Gillette and Holmes each had six rebounds.

The Bulldogs held a slight edge in rebounding, 43-39 overall and 19-16 on the offensive glass.

Anthony Gonzales led UT Tyler with 16. Joey Cuervo added 11.

TLU plays its next two games on the road in the Pacific Northwest. The Bulldogs play Pacific Lutheran University and University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Wash., on Friday and Saturday.

TLU's next home game is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 25. The Bulldogs host Hardin-Simmons University at 7 p.m. in Memorial Gymnasium.