THE LEAD
The DBU Men's Basketball team's season came to a close on Saturday with a 95-87 loss to Fort Lewis in the First Round of the NCAA Division II Tournament at D.L. Ligon Coliseum in Wichita Falls, Texas.  Trailing by as many as 15 points in the game's first seven minutes, the Patriots mounted a valiant comeback that saw them take the lead late in the second half, before eventually falling to the Skyhawks.

Joey Miller led DBU (23-9) in scoring, pouring in 21 of his 23 points in the second half, while Amari Bryant and Myles Johnson each scored in double-digits with 19 and 15 points respectively.   Joshua Blaylock of Fort Lewis (23-8) led all scorers with a 33-point performance.
 
After falling behind by 15 points with 12:51 remaining in the first half, the Patriots began to chip away at the Skyhawks' lead.  A layup by Patrick Burke eventually cut the deficit to single-digits at eight with 5:41 left until the break.  Jordan Gosey's bucket a little over two minutes later brought DBU to within three, before Fort Lewis went on an 11-4 run to finish the half with a 10-point edge.
 
In the second half, the Patriots offense caught fire, going on a 15-5 run of their own, capped off by a three-pointer from Shannon Lilly to tie the game at 51 apiece.  The Patriots would eventually take the lead and with 10:34 remaining Myles Johnson connected on a shot from behind the arc to put the Patriots up by five.  After Fort Lewis came back to tie the game at 65, Amari Bryant knocked down on one of his four three-pointers to put DBU back on top by three. 
 
With Patrick Burke on the bench with four personal fouls, the Patriots' Franklin Uzonwanne came in to provide a spark and his free-throw with 6:32 on the clock kept the DBU lead at three.  Uzonwanne would finish the game with eight points to go along with a team-high six rebounds.
 
Following a pair of free-throws by Rasmus Bach to pull Fort Lewis to within one, Blaylock's layup in the paint gave the Skyhawks the lead back with 5:26 to play.  It would be a lead that Fort Lewis would not relinquish, as they outscored DBU 18-11 over the final five minutes to secure the win.
 
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Today marks the final game in the career of seniors Shannon Lilly, Joey Miller, Jonathan Perry, Tim Simmons, and Franklin Uzonwanne.
- DBU finishes the season with 23 wins, one victory shy of tying the school record for wins.
- Fort Lewis extended their current win streak to 16 games.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
55 – Fort Lewis shot 55 percent from the field and connected on 30-of-55 shots.
18 – The Skyhakws scored 18 more points than DBU at the free-throw line and attempted 17 more shots than the Patriots at the charity stripe.
12 – DBU outscored Fort Lewis in the paint by 12 points (38-26).