THE RUNDOWN
No. 17 DBU suffered its first loss of the season Saturday at the hands of Central Oklahoma, 83-72. A hot-shooting first half helped the Bronchos hold the lead for nearly 94 percent of the game, although the Patriots made a late run that nearly changed the outcome.

Jordan Manse completed a four-point play to bring DBU, which had trailed by as many as 12 points, to within one point of UCO with 3:13 to play. The Bronchos scored 12 of the final 14 points to put the Patriots away. 

Manse, JT Harris, and Chandler Jacobs led DBU with 15 points each, as the Patriot bench was held scoreless.


THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- The Patriots' season-starting eight-game winning streak tied the 2008-09 DBU squad that finished 24-7 and made the NCAA Regional Semifinals.
- Saturday's game was the fourth this season in which DBU had at least five players record double figures in scoring, as each starter scored at least 13.
- The Patriots made 20 free throws for the second straight game and third time this year.

DBU HEAD COACH BLAKE FLICKNER ON HIS TEAM'S FLAT START
"We knew this would be a tough place to play, but we did not come out with the intensity  required to start the game. The guys hung in there and fought back, but we came up short on some rebounds and loose balls that could have made the difference. We'll have to learn from this and get better moving forward."
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
.417 - Central Oklahoma shot .667 from beyond the arc in the first half, but only .250 in the second, a .417 difference.
17 - The Patriots' bench, which did not record a point Saturday, has scored 17 points in the last three games, all of which starting guard Carter Brown has missed with an ankle injury.
35:23 - UCO led for the final 35:23 of the game.
 
UP NEXT
The Patriots return home for a non-conference game with Dallas Christian at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Burg Center.