Box Score

The Dallas Baptist Men's Basketball Team snapped a six-game slide and managed a strong second half to earn a 73-62 victory over Oklahoma Panhandle State Saturday afternoon. With the win, DBU improves to 5-9 overall and 2-5 in the Heartland Conference, while the Aggies fall to 1-15 and 1-6 in conference play.
 
Each squad got off to a cold start with neither knocking down a basket until nearly two minutes into the first half. OPSU broke the scoreless game with a layup, before freshman, Jordan Pratt, evened the contest with DBU's first field goal on the afternoon.  OPSU would eventually stretch the lead  to six points at the 13:53 mark.
 
Facing a zone defense, the Patriots looked to their perimeter shooting game to carry the offense.  Midway through the half, DBU used an 8-2 run, including back-to-back shots behind the arc from sophomore, Jason Gentry, and redshirt freshman, Myles Johnson, to knot the score 16-16.
 
Dallas Baptist would grab its first lead with 3:12 remaining in the first half, following a Pratt trifecta to put the Patriots up 30-27. Another shot from beyond the three-point arc by Johnson, and a fast break layup off a turnover forced by Gentry kept the edge 35-32 in favor of DBU.  However, in the final possession, OPSU's Bill Lee Jr. hit a half-court buzzer beater in the closing seconds to put the Aggies up 36-35 heading into halftime.  
 
DBU junior, Chris Strong, lifted the Patriots back in front with a quick bucket coming out of the break  and senior, Cory Carden, joined the three-point barrage to extend the advantage 40-36 in the early going. The Aggies responded with a trey of their own, and eventually would regain the lead again in what would become a back-and-forth battle through the next several minutes.
 
With under 9:23 left to play, DBU trailed 55-54 before reeling off on a 9-3 run that spanned over the next four minutes. Johnson and Jonathan Perry sparked the Patriot rally, pouring in the team's next seven points. Johnson's layup with 3:46 to go in regulation extended DBU's largest margin at the time to nine points, 66-57. The Patriots would lead by as many as 11 down the stretch, and outscored their opponents 38-26 in the second half.  
 
Johnson led a quartet of DBU players that notched double-digits in scoring while matching a career-high 21 points in the win. Gentry and Perry were also key contributors throughout the day, each tallying 14. Senior, Remy Ndiaye, added 10 and boasted a team best eight rebounds. Perry and Strong were right behind pulling down six boards apiece.  
 
The Patriots were outshot 42-percent to 38-percent from the floor, and only connected on 9-for-35 from behind the arc. Still, the trifecta's came in timely fashion and DBU won the turnover battle on the afternoon. OPSU was forced into 15 miscues, which the Patriots turned into 17 points. DBU also came away with more steals, recording 10 to the Aggie's lone steal. The teams were even in the rebounding category with 31 each.  
 
Dallas Baptist finishes the last two games of a five-game home stand next week. The first of the Patriots' two games tips-off at 7 PM on Thursday against St. Mary's. On Saturday, the season-long stretch at the Burg Center ends with a 2 PM tip versus Texas A&M International.