The Dallas Baptist Patriot Basketball Team advanced to the NCCAA Regional Finals with a 98-92 win over Central Christian College, Friday afternoon in Oklahoma City. The win improves the Patriots to 16-12 on the season and leaves them only one win away from advancing to the NCCAA National Tournament in Oakland City, Indiana.

The Patriots were led by Sophomore Nick Fox who finished with 34 points and 10 rebounds. Senior Braxton Adamson scored 17 points for DBU, while Juniors Armie Lewis and Jordan McGowen added 14 and 13 points, respectively.

A close game for most of the opening period, Fox and McGowen combined for seven straight points to close out the first half, giving DBU a 41-32 advantage at the break.

Less than a minute into the second period, Adamson pushed the Patriot lead to double digits after a jumper and a free throw that gave DBU a 44-34 lead. The Patriots continued their solid play on offensive the ensuing four minutes, pushing their lead up to 20. Altogether, DBU outscored Central Christian, 13-5, during the first five minutes of the second half.

However, Central Christian refused to go away, chipping away at the Patriot lead and eventually pulling to within single digits at the 6:52 mark. A three-pointer by Christian Goolsby trimmed the DBU lead to 79-71.

CCC pulled to within five points on two separate occasions under two minutes, but a pair of free throws from Lewis with just under a minute left on the clock extended DBU's advantage back to double digits once again, 94-84.

The double-digit lead proved to be too much to overcome with so little time, as Chris Lockwood's three-pointer with 14 seconds left only pulled Central Christian to within four, 97-92.

The Patriots will await the winner of the Mid-America Christian/York College game later tonight. Tomorrow's NCCAA Regional Championship Game will be broadcast live from Mid-America Christian's website (macuathletics.com). Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.