THE RUNDOWN
No. 5 DBU defeated CCU 76-67 in the opening game of the South Central Region Challenge on Friday afternoon. The Patriots showcased their depth and defensive prowess, fending off a strong second-half rally from the Cougars to secure the win. Key contributions from Drew Calderon, Ricky Lujan, and Xavion Brown helped DBU maintain control, with the Patriots holding off a late push to start the tournament with a victory.
The first half got off to an exciting start, with DBU's Drew Calderon knocking down a three-pointer for the first basket of the night. CCU quickly answered with a two-point jumper, making it 3-2 early on. The teams exchanged leads back and forth in the opening minutes, with five lead changes heading into the under-16 media timeout, where DBU held a slim 10-9 advantage. The Patriots then went on a 6-0 run, capped by a layup from Jaden Shelvin, to stretch their lead to 14-9 with 15:20 left in the first half. Calderon, Junior Goodlet, and Cameron Kahn helped extend the Patriots' lead further, pushing it to 21-14 by the under-12 timeout.
Defensive pressure from both teams stalled the offense for a few minutes, but Calderon took matters into his own hands, scoring five unanswered points to push DBU's lead into double digits at 26-16 with 10:16 left on the clock. CCU managed to trim the deficit to 28-19 with a three-pointer, but a quick layup from Jackson McCabe off an AJ Borden rebound restored the Patriots' double-digit cushion at 30-19, forcing the Cougars to call a timeout with nine minutes remaining. The Patriots dominated defensively, holding CCU to a scoreless drought for over five minutes and pushing their lead to 39-19 with 4:08 left. Although the Cougars managed to hit a few late shots, including a three-pointer, the Patriots answered every challenge, and a Goodlet three-pointer kept the lead at 46-36. CCU broke another scoring drought with a three-pointer in the final minutes, but DBU went into halftime with a commanding 48-30 lead.
The second half saw a much stronger start from the Cougars, as they quickly trimmed the Patriots' 18-point halftime lead down to 14. CCU found their rhythm, outscoring DBU 13-7 in the first five minutes, and cut the lead to 56-50 with a 7-0 run. The Patriots struggled with foul trouble early in the half, committing seven fouls by the 13:16 mark, which allowed the Cougars to capitalize at the free-throw line. DBU's defense tightened briefly when Ricky Lujan stopped the run with a crucial layup, but after a foul by Xavion Brown, CCU capitalized with two free throws, making it a 58-52 game. With the Cougars closing in, the Patriots responded with a big play. A thunderous poster dunk by Brown, assisted by Lujan, pushed DBU's lead back to double digits at 62-52 with 9:41 left on the clock. From there, the game became a back-and-forth battle, with DBU's lead fluctuating between 6 and 10 points as the Cougars tried to close the gap. Despite a few moments of foul trouble, the Patriots held strong defensively, and when CCU's free throws cut the lead to 6, DBU answered with a quick 5-0 run in just 41 seconds to take a 12-point lead at 76-64 with 46 seconds remaining. The Cougars managed a final three-pointer, but it was too little, too late, and the Patriots secured the 76-67 victory.
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- The Patriots forced 23 turnovers from the Cougars compared to DBU's 15.
- The match was pretty foul-heavy with 42 personal fouls.
- Justin Haire led the Patriots with a team-high eight rebounds.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
3- Three Patriots finished in double figures, including
Ricky Lujan (14),
Drew Calderon (11), and
Junior Goodlet (10).
6- The contest saw six lead changes and was tied once.
24- DBU scored 24 points off turnovers compared to the Cougar's 7.
75- DBU was 75% from the charity stripe, 18-24.
DBU HEAD COACH BLAKE FLICKNER POST-GAME COMMENTS
"It was a really gritty effort today in a true road game. We had a great contingent though in Colorado which was awesome. Our DBU Cross Country team is here for NCAA Regionals and they braved the treacherous weather to come out and support us today. Thank you Coach Phillips and good luck tomorrow Patriots! I was really proud of the way we kept battling to find a way. Xavion, Justin and Ricky in particular made some key plays in the second half, but I thought we had lots of guys step up and make solid contributions. Junior had his best game so far into his young career."
UP NEXT
The Patriots continue their run in the South Central Region Challenge, facing Colorado Mesa tomorrow at 12:00 p.m.
