The Dallas Baptist Patriot Basketball Team suffered a 68-71 loss to the University of Arkansas Fort Smith Thursday evening in Arkansas. Due to the Lions' provisional status this season, the game will not affect the Patriots chances of making the Heartland Conference Tournament. Overall, the Patriots are 13-12 on the season, and 5-6 in conference play.

The Patriots' only lead in the game came after their first possession, when Senior Braxton Adamson scored on a layup and was fouled. His free throw gave DBU a 3-0 lead, but a three-pointer from the Lions' Stojanovic tied the game one possession later.

After Adamson's opening three-point play, the Lions scored 16 unanswered points to take their second largest lead of the game five minutes after the opening tip-off. Trailing 16-3, DBU rallied with a 7-0 run of their own, capped by a layup from Senior Jared Whitmire, to make it 16-10 with 11:44 left in the half.

A pair of free throws in the waning seconds of the half gave UA-Fort Smith a 37-28 lead at the break. All together, the Lions shot a staggering 59 percent from the field in the opening period, compared to only 32 percent from the Patriots.

DBU managed to cut their deficit to six points on three separate occasions in the first ten minutes of the second half, but strong shooting from the Lions gave UAFS their largest lead of the game, 58-44, with 8:21 left.

Still down ten with 4:34 left, the Patriots held the Lions scoreless over the next three minutes of play, and scored ten unanswered to pull within two. A three-pointer from Junior Armie Lewis and a layup from Junior Jordan McGowen trimmed the Patriot deficit to just two points, with just over a minute to play.

After a Lion three-pointer, Adamson drained his third three-pointer of the night to pull the Patriots to within one, 68-69, with 28 seconds remaining.

A pair of Lion free throws gave UAFS a three-point lead, and set up the final possession for the Patriots. McGowen's three-point attempt was off the mark, but the Patriots retrieved the offense rebound for one last chance. However, Adamson's last second three-point attempt was off as well, leaving DBU with the 68-71 loss.

Adamson led all scorers with 25 points while Sophomore Nick Fox added 14 points and six rebounds.

The Patriots will face Oklahoma Panhandle State on Saturday, in a must-win situation. DBU will need to win and hope for a St. Mary's loss in order to earn a trip to the Heartland Conference Tournament. St. Mary's is playing the tournament's number-one seed, Texas A&M International. Game time at the Burg Center on Saturday is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.