THE RUNDOWN
DBU (10-5, 5-2 LSC) knocked off St. Mary's (6-6, 3-4 LSC) to earn its 10th win of the year. Ta'Jay Dunlap (team-leading 15 points) scored in double figures for the third consecutive games.
 
Trailing 7-4, the Patriots went on a 10-0 run to go up, 14-7, just over 5 minutes into the game. Shortly after, it seemed as though neither team could buy a shot, as it took almost another seven minutes before DBU became the first to breach 20 points. Despite facing a deficit for the majority of the half, a Tyler Caron jump shot initiated a 13-2 run for the Rattlers, giving them a 5-point lead at the break.
 
St. Mary's held the advantage through first 10 minutes of the second half as the Patriots prohibited the margin to grow larger than six. Down 55-49, DBU strung together seven points, capped off by a Ricky Lujan layup, to take its first lead since 2:43 in the first half. The squads traded the supreme score until, knotted at 68, the Patriots tallied 13 of the contest's final 16 points to win, 81-71.
 
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Thursday's victory is the Patriots' ninth consecutive over the Rattlers.
- DBU outrebounded its opponent for the first time in five games.
- After shooting only 22% from 3-point territory in the first half, the Patriots converted 58% of the same in the second period.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
3 - DBU held the Rattlers, ninth nationally in offensive rebounds per game, to only three offensive rebounds
5 - Four Patriots snagged at least five rebounds (Ta'Jay Dunlap, Justin Haire, Cameron Kahn, and Javion Richard).
11 - Dunlap, Austin Garner, Ricky Lujan, and Jalen White each registered 11 or more points.
 
BLAKE FLICKNER ON THE TURNAROUND FROM BEHIND THE ARC
"If you make jump shots, things tend to open up, and it was great to see Jalen [White] hit some, [Jaden Shelvin] hit a really good one in the corner that was huge, Ta'Jay hit some tough ones—those were big. That tends to make everything else a little bit easier, when your shots are going in."
 
UP NEXT
The Patriots have a day off ahead of another home game on Saturday when DBU hosts St. Edwards. Tip-off is at 2:00 pm in The Burg Center.
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