THE RUNDOWN
The DBU Men's Basketball team broke open a tie game at the half by outscoring Colorado Mesa by 24 points en route to an 86-62 win in the final game of the Heartland vs. RMAC Challenge on Saturday at Brownson Arena in Grand Junction, Colorado.  Led by Boy Van Vliet's career-high 30 points, the Patriots shot 61 percent from the field in the second half as DBU improved to 2-0 for the first time since the 2008-2009 season. 
 
After jumping out to a double-digit lead 10 minutes into the game and going up by as many as 11, the Patriot's' lead began to slip away.  With just over seven minutes to play in the first half, Colorado Mesa (0-2) would go on a 16-4 run and took their first lead when CJ Davis connected on a three-pointer with 14 seconds left on the clock.  A free throw by DBU's Carter Brown eventually tied the game at 33 apiece going into the break.
 
In the second half, the Patriots wasted little time as they stormed out to a 10-point lead when Van Vliet delivered a jumper with 16:38 remaining in the game.  Over the next 14 minutes, DBU outscored the Mavericks 40-19 to go up by as many as 31 points, despite having to play most of the half without the likes of Patrick Burke, JT Harris, and Zach Lord, who each battled foul trouble. 
 
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Boy Van Vliet's 30 points were just two points shy of being the 10th most in a single-game in school history.
- The Patriots shot better from three-point range (36%) than Colorado Mesa shot from the field (35%).
- Chandler Jacobs scored 11 points to give him his second consecutive double-digit performance to begin his career.
 
DBU HEAD COACH BLAKE FLICKNER ON THE TEAM'S STRONG SECOND HALF
"We were able to make some adjustments at halftime to the way they were defending and our guys really responded well.  I thought the defensive effort was also phenomenal.  Besides all the free throws that they shot, we did a great job of not letting them get clean looks and that played a huge role in us getting the win."
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
26 - DBU forced 26 turnovers that led to 38 points.
2 - The Patriots grabbed two more rebounds than Colorado Mesa, 31-29.
10 - Carter Brown has totaled 10 steals in DBU's first two games.
 
UP NEXT
The Patriots face No. 8 Texas-Permian Basin the home opener and the annual Homecoming Game on Saturday at the Burg Center.  Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.