THE LEAD
Behind 20-plus point performances from Patrick Burke, Myles Johnson, and Joey Miller, the DBU Men's Basketball team overcame upset-minded Oklahoma Panhandle State in a 95-92 win on Monday night in Goodwell, Oklahoma.  Despite 35 points from OPSU's Antonio Manns Jr., DBU (15-5, 9-3) held off the Aggies to move into a tie for first place with Texas A&M-International in the Heartland Conference standings.
 
On a night in which the Patriots' Burke, Johnson, and Miller accounted for over 70 percent of DBU's points, the trio combined to shoot 59 percent from the field.  Burke led DBU with a career-high 27 points, while Johnson added 22 and Miller poured in 20.
 
Coming off a season-low 57 points on Saturday at Lubbock Christian, the Patriots offense found their rhythm early, opening up a 16-3 advantage in the game's first five minutes.  OPSU (8-12, 1-11) would chip away at the DBU lead though, as a three-pointer from the Aggies' Zoran Arsenovic pulled OPSU to within eight points just inside the ten-minute mark.  With 5:33 left in the first half, an Antonio Manns three-pointer drew OPSU to within two points of the Patriots.  Over the final five minutes, DBU would maintain their two-point lead and took a 39-37 advantage into the locker room.
 
In the second half, OPSU grabbed their first lead of the game when Melvin Mitchell connected on a three-pointer just 40 seconds out of the break.  The Aggies lead would grow as large as eight points with 12:17 remaining in the game, before DBU mounted a comeback. 
 
A three-pointer from the Patriots' Jonathan Perry pulled DBU to within two points with 9:16 to play in the second half.  Five minutes later, a Burke layup would cut the deficit to one at 78-77 with 4:16 on the clock.  Following a three-pointer from Johnson to tie the game at 82, Burke hit another shot in the paint to give DBU back the lead for good.
 
Free-throws from Burke extended the Patriots' lead to seven with 39 seconds remaining.  A pair of three-pointers from the Aggies Antonio Mann kept OPSU's hopes alive, but following a missed shot from beyond the arc by the Aggies' Marquavius Williams with 12 second on the clock to give the Aggies the lead, Myles Johnson connected on a free-throw to ice the game for DBU.
 
DBU HEAD COACH BLAKE FLICKNER ON THE CLOSE WIN
"Tonight was a gutty win by our guys.  They really stepped up and handled adversity in crunch time and made big plays down the stretch.  OPSU gave us their best shot and our guys responded with toughness.  Myles, Joey, and Patrick were all big on the offensive end and Tim Simmons and Shannon Lilly came up with a couple of huge defensive plays and rebounds in the last few minutes.  Jonathan Perry also provided a spark and made some big shots off the bench."
 
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- With tonight's win, the Patriots have defeated OPSU 12 straight times.
- DBU's 15-5 record matches their best start in program history through 20 games.
- Blake Flickner coached his 300th career game as the head coach at DBU tonight.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
40 – DBU scored 40 points in the paint, compared to 28 by OPSU.
7 – Joey Miller dished out seven assists, while not committing any turnovers.
5 – Myles Johnson connected on 5-of-6 shots from three-point range.
 
UP NEXT
DBU returns to the Burg Center on Saturday afternoon when they host St. Edward's.  Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.