THE RUNDOWN 
DBU (5-4) suffered a 77-60 loss to UT Tyler (6-0) on Saturday at the Burg Center. A suffocating press from the UTT defense generated a season-high 20 turnovers and handed the Patriots their second straight loss. 

Jack Johnson shined in his third start as a Patriot. The freshman turned in a 4-of-5 performance from deep for a Patriots' team that struggled to find offense elsewhere. UT Tyler grabbed a bulk of its points off the offensive glass, chipping in 21 points on second-chance opportunities. Defensively, UTT created chaos from the opening buzzer, smothering Patriot ball handlers the moment they crossed half court. Johnson was joined in double-figure scoring by fellow freshman Javion Richard. Richard chipped in 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting, but it wasn't enough to offset a UTT squad that controlled possession with a 41-27 rebounding advantage. 

A 7-0 run and a 5-0 personal run from Ricky Lujan cut DBU's deficit to 24-20 midway through the first half. But more turnovers and a two-minute scoring drought put the Patriots in a 12-point deficit by halftime. UT Tyler led by as many as 23 points in the second half, but a combined 13 second-half points from Richard and Alex Holcombe cut the final deficit to 17 in a game UT Tyler never trailed. 

THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
-UT Tyler ties the all-time series at 1-1.
-DBU loses three straight home games for the first time since 2015.
-Javion Richard's 10 points are a season-high.

HEAD COACH BLAKE FLICKNER ON POISE
"Obviously, we weren't poised enough for the chaos they [UT Tyler] create. They really fly around, and you got to praise their effort....Turnovers and offensive rebounds gave them way more possessions than us, and we got to do a better job with those things. We just need to understand that when you play for DBU, teams come in here ready to play their best and we have to be more hungry than they are. We have to be hungrier than they are and be more poised in chaotic situations." 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
17 - UTT grabbed 17 offensive boards.
4 - Four players broke the 10 point threshold, two for each side. Da'Zhon Wyche (19 points) and Micah Fuller (15 points) led UTT offensively. 
11 - DBU tallied 11 assists on the day. 

UP NEXT
DBU hosts Southeastern Oklahoma State on Saturday, December 18.