THE RUNDOWN
On Tuesday, the Patriots (15-8, 8-3 LSC) fell to Midwestern State 75-61 at D. L. Ligon Coliseum. The Mustangs (10-13, 6-5 LSC) continued their recent trend of suffocating defense, holding DBU to 31% shooting in the second half and just 20 points in the paint. All four of MSU's leading scorers reached double figures, and the Patriots dropped a road game for just the third time this season.

Austin Garner (18 points) led all scorers with 14 points at halftime. The sophomore drilled four 3-pointers in the first half and looked to be the key to an offense that struggled to get going. Ricky Lujan and Carson Hughes opened the second half with back-to-back triples to put DBU on top, but a 6-0 run from the Mustangs avalanched into a 12-2 outburst, and the Patriots would get no closer than six the rest of the way. 

MSU's frontcourt of Jermane Carter (11 points, 9 rebounds) and Amaechi Chukwu (11 points, 11 rebounds) impacted both ends of the floor as the game progressed. Lujan was able to attack the rim in the second half, scoring all 13 of his points in the final frame in an attempt to jumpstart the offense. But the Mustangs were able to limit the rest of the Patriots inside, and strong defense from Pierre Sanders (19 points, 2 steals) and Terrell Wilson (19 points, 3 steals) kept DBU's sharpshooters out of rhythm and forced four turnovers in the last four minutes to seal the game. 

THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
-DBU's five-game road winning streak comes to an end. 
-Midwestern State gets its first-ever win against DBU
-Cameron Kahn (10 points, 5 rebounds) was the third Patriot to reach double figures. 

COACH BLAKE FLICKNER ON THE GAME 
"MSU was the hungrier team tonight. They played with more aggression and urgency than we did. Austin shot the ball well and was able to break free in the first half, but in the second half, we could get much going offensively. Credit to MSU, they've been on a roll and are really defending at a high level. They're well-coached, and tonight, they were the better team."

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 
15 - The Mustangs earned 15 offensive rebounds.
7 - Austin Garner has scored four or more 3-pointers in seven games. 
3 - DBU scored just three points in the final five minutes. 

UP NEXT
The Patriots come home to the Burg to host Western New Mexico on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m.