Men's Basketball
The Patriots Men's Basketball Team played their Heartland conference opener Saturday night in Austin, Texas. DBU put up a valid effort but fell short in the end losing to the Hilltoppers from St. Edwards University, 88-83. With the loss DBU falls to 3-7 overall and 0-1 in conference play, while SEU improve to 9-3 overall and 1-0 in the conference.
The Hilltoppers jumped out to an early 11-2 lead with DBU allowing them to score three consecutive lay-ups to end the run. St. Edward then pushed their lead to 27-14, only to be answered by an 8-0 run by DBU to cut the lead to 27-22 with six minutes remaining in the half.
The rest of the half saw both teams trading baskets with the Hilltoppers hitting a three-pointer with five seconds left to push their lead to 44-31 at half-time.
DBU raced out with a quick 7-2 run to start the second half and close the lead to 46-38. SEU answerd once again with an 8-1 to push the lead back to 54-39. The Patriots were determined not to let the Hilltoppers win the game without a battle and with four minutes remaining went on a 11-2 run to cut the lead to 80-76 with 56 seconds remaining in the game.
The Patriots were forced to start fouling St. Edwards for which the Hilltoppers responded by going eight for 10 from the charity line in the final minute of the game to secure the victory.
Leading the Patriots and all scores was Junior Nick Michels, who registered 33 points, including 10-16 shooting from the field and hitting five of six three-point shots. Freshmen Heath Wiechman and Eddie Gloviak continued their strong play with Wiechman scoring 17 points and grabbing five boards, while Gloviak added 16 points.
The Patriots will look to snap their five game losing streak when they travel to Laredo, Texas, on Janurary 1, to take on Texas A&M International, at 7:00.
