THE LEAD
The Dallas Baptist University Men's Basketball team lost to the University of Central Oklahoma, 78-72, on Homecoming night at The Burg Center on Saturday night. Patrick Burke led the Patriots with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field and added a team-high six rebounds.

Amari Bryant and JT Harris joined Burke in double digits with 14 points apiece, combining to shoot 11-for-15. Harris made 4-of-6 attempts from beyond the arc and recorded two steals. Myles Johnson and Xavier Ledet each added 11 points.

The Patriots' shooting woes began from the opening tip, as the team was unable to get on the board in the first two minutes. Myles Johnson finally put the first DBU points on the board on a breakaway layup 1:59 seconds into the game.  The Bronchos sank 7-of-9 shots to open the game to get out to a 19-9 lead and force the Patriots to call a timeout in the midst of a three-minute scoring drought with 13:15 left in the first half. Capitalizing on a 4:30 field goal drought for UCO, DBU went on a 13-2 run to close the lead to 27-24, highlighted by a pair of three-pointers by JT Harris. The Broncos responded with an 11-2 run to regain a double-digit lead at 38-26. Patrick Burke tacked on four of his eight first-half points in the final minute of the first half to cut the deficit to 38-30 as the teams headed to the locker room.

Burke continued his hot streak in the opening seconds of the second half after drawing a foul on a layup and converting the free throw. JT Harris led the Patriots on another stretch behind another pair of field goals from beyond the arc to close the lead to 50-48, as they took advantage of seven turnovers in the opening minutes of the second half. The Bronchos found their touch and maintained their lead, shooting 7-of-9 to match DBU's big plays in the first half of the second half. After a 2:30 field goal drought, Amari Bryant converted a layup with eight minutes remaining to cut the deficit to 59-54. Bryant scored 14 points down the stretch of the game, but UCO proved to be too much for the Patriots. After the Bronchos went three minutes without a field goal, Demari Edwards made a three-pointer to extend UCO's lead to 72-64, which seemed to be a dagger in DBU's comeback attempt.

THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
 - JT Harris didn't miss a shot until halfway through the second half, converting his first four attempts from the field and first two attempts from the perimeter.
 - DBU has had the edge in turnover margin in all three games this season.
 - The Patriots scored 27 points off turnovers in the loss.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
12 – Amari Bryant scored 12 of DBU's last 15 points.
7 – Boy Van Vliet led the team with seven assists.
89 – Myles Johnson tied Nick Fox for the fifth most starts in school history with his 89^th start on Saturday.

UP NEXT
DBU hosts Arlington Baptist in the final game of the four-game season-opening homestand on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. at The Burg Center.