THE RUNDOWN
No. 12 DBU secured an impressive 72-62 victory over UT Tyler on Thursday evening. The Patriots demonstrated resilience and dominance throughout the contest after a back-and-forth first half, where DBU battled to stay within striking distance. The Patriots turned up the intensity in the second half eventually pulling away with key contributions from Ricky Lujan (14 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds), Xavion Brown (14 points, 6 rebounds, 5 steals), and Cameron Kahn (12 points, 9 rebounds). DBU was able to hold off UT Tyler's late push and secure the win, setting the tone for the rest of their road trip.
The first half between Dallas Baptist University and UT Tyler was a tightly contested matchup, with both teams battling for control early on. UT Tyler initially took the upper hand, holding DBU to just five points in the first five minutes and leading 9-5. DBU responded leading 11-9 after a quick scoring burst capped off by a Cameron Kahn layup. However, UT Tyler knocked in a layup to tie the score up, 11-11. The Patriots had a chance to regain their lead after a shooting foul on Jackson McCabe, but his missed free throw allowed UT Tyler to regain the advantage with a quick basket, bringing the score to 11-13.
From there, the two teams exchanged leads, with UT Tyler going on a scoring run to build a six-point lead. McCabe kept DBU in the game with an alley-oop dunk, cutting the lead to 15-19, but UT Tyler answered with a dunk of their own, extending their advantage to 21-15. DBU responded with their first three-pointer of the game, courtesy of Trevor Frank, which narrowed the gap to 21-24 with just 1:15 left. In the final moments of the half, Xavion Brown drew a foul and hit one of his two free throws, leaving DBU just one point behind, 25-26, heading into the break.
UT Tyler came out strong in the second half, opening the scoring with a basket to lead 28-25. However, DBU quickly responded, as Frank knocked down a three-pointer and Brown added a dunk, giving the Patriots a 30-28 lead with 18:15 remaining. Sam Phipps briefly tied things up for UT Tyler with two free throws, but DBU answered with a three-pointer from Cody Stevens and a driving layup by Kahn. The DBU Patriots continued to dominate, extending their lead to seven, 41-34, with 14 minutes left in the game. Ricky Lujan then erupted for eight points, including two three-pointers, to give DBU a commanding 15-point advantage.Â
Jaden Shelvin got into the action with his first basket of the night, a three-pointer that stretched the lead to 21 points, 54-33. UT Tyler fought back, attempting to cut into DBU's lead with a dunk, but Shelvin quickly answered with a dunk of his own off a Lujan assist. The pace of the game intensified, with both teams trading baskets over the next few minutes. UT Tyler managed to trim the deficit to 17 points, 65-48, but DBU responded with a clutch three-pointer from Jerrin Canafax to regain a 19-point lead. Despite UT Tyler's late push with three quick threes in the final seconds, DBU held on to secure a 72-62 victory in their first game of a five-game road trip.
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Cameron Kahn notched his 125th career game tying him with Carter Brown for seventh most games in program history.Â
- Xavion Brown registered an impressive performance tonight with 14 points, 6 rebounds, 5 steals, 2 assists, and one block.Â
- DBU leads the all-time head-to-head series against UTT 7-1.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
2-2- Three Patriots were perfect from the charity stripe going 2-2, including
Xavion Brown, Issac Bullard, and
Cameron Kahn.Â
3- Three Patriots finished in double figures, including
Ricky Lujan (14),
Xavion Brown (14), and
Cameron Kahn (12).Â
23- The Patriots forced 23 turnovers from UT Tyler.
1,815- Cameron Kahn's career points total tonight passed Myles Johnson to third all-time in career points in program history with 1,815.Â
DBU HEAD COACH BLAKE FLICKNER POST-GAME COMMENTS
"It was a really gritty tough road win against a very stingy Tyler defense that made it nearly impossible to score in the paint. We stuck with our game plan and just kept wearing them down and eventually were able to separate. I am excited to build from this as we continue on through LSC play."
UP NEXT
The Patriots continue their five-game road trip on Tuesday, December 17, in Portales, New Mexico, where they will face Eastern New Mexico. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. MT/8:30 p.m. CT.
