THE LEAD 
The DBU Men's Basketball Team were unable to clinch a share of the Heartland Conference regular season title on Thursday night, after falling to the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith in overtime, 114-109.

The Patriots had three players score over 20 points with Joey Miller leading the way with 28, Myles Johnson turning in 24, and 22 from Patrick Burke. Tim Simmons scored in double-figures as well with 12 points.  
 
Hot shooting was on display in the first twenty minutes of action as both squads shot well over 52% from the field. DBU created an early 13-8 advantage against UAFS, but the Lions responded by going on a run scoring 13 of the next 19 points to take a 21-19 lead. UA Fort Smith went on to extend that lead to a 30-21 deficit for DBU, but the Patriots continued to fight. 

Shooting a scorching 60.7% from the field along with Joey Miller's 13 first half points, DBU battled back to take a 45-45 tie into halftime. 

The Patriots opened up the second half continuing their scoring, engineering a  63-55 lead against the Lions. DBU's lead was threatened at the  hands of UAFS' Seth Youngblood, who led UAFS with 22 points going 4-8 from behind the arc. The Lions rally in the second half put them up by as much as seven points with over four minutes remaining in the second half of play up 83-76. 

Down but not out, the Patriots engineered a comeback sparked by two Patrick Burke free throws that put DBU within striking distance down 87-86. After a pair of points from the charity stripe by UAFS to go up 89-86, a Joey Miller three pointer with 19 seconds left pushed the game into overtime tied at 89-89.  

In the extra period everything went the Lions' way early creating a 104-96 deficit for the Patriots. DBU chipped away at the lead created by UAFS so much so that a pair of Miller free throws brought the Patriots to within two points at 109-107 with 14 seconds remaining. 

DBU was unable to capitalize after that with both teams exchanging free throws and UAFS leaving the Burg Center with a 114-109 victory. DBU will have another opportunity to claim a share of the Heartland Conference when they face Rogers State this Monday on "Senior Night".            
 
DBU HEAD COACH BLAKE FLICKNER ON THE OVERTIME LOSS 
"UAFS had a couple of rebounds and we missed a few opportunities to get some stops and that made the difference in the game. You can't fault our guys for their heart and their effort, we just got to bounce back and get ready so that we can get a chance to get a share of the conference championship."

THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW 
- This was the third time this season that the DBU went over 100 points. 
- This was the second overtime loss for DBU this season. The Patriots are now 3-2 in overtime games. 
- 11 game home win streak was snapped.  

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 
60.7% - DBU First half shooting percentage
24 - Bench points scored by UAFS to DBU's eight.  
15 - Second chance points scored by UAFS to DBU's five.
 
UP NEXT FOR THE PATRIOTS
The Patriots will wrap up their regular season schedule at the Burg Center with "Senior Night" against Rogers State University on Monday, February 29. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m.