After holding as much as a 19-point lead midway through the second half, the Dallas Baptist Patriot Basketball Team fought off a late surge from Abilene Christian on Monday evening to win their home opener over the Wildcats, 90-86. The Patriots are now 1-1 on the season as they prepare for Saturday's match against Howard Payne University.

The Patriots never trailed in the game, but used a team high, 27 points from Senior Braxton Adamson to hold off a late comeback attempt by the Wildcats.

Trailing 46-65 with 9:27 remaining in the game, the Wildcats used a swarming full-court defense that resulted in a 14-2 run over the next two and half minutes, cutting the Patriot lead to seven, 67-70. All together, the Wildcats full-court pressure and trapping defense forced 16 second half turnovers by the Patriots.

Finally finding their rhythm, DBU put together a run of their own, led by Adamson who scored eight straight points to push it back to a 12-point Patriot lead, 75-63, at the 5:43 mark.

The Wildcats pulled to within five points on two separate occasions with under a minute to play, but the deficit proved to be too much to overcome. A last second three by the Wildcats closed the margin to four, but the Patriots held on for their first victory of the season, 90-86.

Adamson finished three-for-four from behind the arc, and was a near perfect, 14-15 from the free throw line. Sophomore Nick Fox had a stellar night with 20 points and seven rebounds while Junior Armie Lewis finished with 13 points, five assists, and five rebounds.

The Patriots will host their Homecoming Game this Saturday, November 20, as they welcome Howard Payne University to the Burg Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.