Box Score

Despite a career-high 22 points from Jason Gentry, the DBU Patriot Basketball Team dropped a hard-fought, physical contest to visiting Texas A&M-Commerce, Monday evening at The Burg Center. The 92-88 non-conference loss drops DBU to 4-5 on the year, with the Lions improving to 10-1.
 
"This was a game we could have won," said Dallas Baptist Head Coach Blake Flickner. "They are a very athletic team, and are probably going to be ranked high in the region when those rankings begin. They are going to win a lot of games."
 
The Patriots came about firing to start the contest, quickly running up a 12-2 lead in just under six minutes. After extending their lead as high as 12, the home club watched their advantage slowly dwindle through the remainder of the frame, even trailing by four before taking a one point lead into the break, 41-40.
 
The second half produced a much different effort for the visiting Lions, who shot a solid 56-percent from the field in the second frame, compared to just 37-percent in the first. Thanks in large part to 14 points in the half from Kameron Price, the Lions pulled away and held off a late DBU charge, taking the hard-fought, four point win.
 
Gentry led all scorers with 22 points, 17 of which came in the second half. Jonathan Perry turned in 19 points, followed by 11 from Remy Ndiaye and 10 from Charles Allen. Ndiaye earned his second double-double of the season, grabbing a team-high 10 boards, with Perry adding seven. Gentry also pitched in on the defensive end with four steals.
 
"Jason (Gentry) played with a lot of emotion tonight," added Flickner about his sophomore guard. "He has been sick recently and really came out and gave us his best game of the season."
 
Texas A&M-Commerce brought a balanced attack, with all five starters scoring in double-figures. Price was joined by Tyrie Wooten with 16 points each, followed by 13 from Cameron Blue, and 11 each from Devondrick Walker and Christian Macauley. Macauley added a game-high 13 rebounds.
 
Overall, the visitors shot 45-percent, compared to 44-percent for the Patriots. DBU won the turnover battle, giving the ball away just eight times, compared to 15 turnovers for Texas A&M-Commerce. One big difference came on the boards, as the Lions grabbed 40 rebounds, compared to 21 for the Patriots.
 
The Patriots compete one more time in the 2013 calendar year, traveling to Oral Roberts University, Dec. 21. That game is scheduled for 1 p.m. The team will then take a break for the Christmas holiday, continuing Heartland Conference play at Rogers State, Jan. 2.