THE RUNDOWN
Fourth-seeded DBU knocked off the fifth-seeded Colorado School of Mines, 86-73, late Saturday night in the NCAA Division II South Central Region Quarterfinals. Ricky Lujan and Cameron Kahn lead the Patriots in scoring with 20 points. 

DBU's first points came from a three-point jumper by Trevor Frank just over two minutes into the game. Justin Haire quickly followed with a hook shot jumper to extend their lead. On the defensive end of the floor, the Patriots held the Orediggers without a point for over three minutes into the first media timeout. Back-to-back shots from Cameron Kahn and Ricky Lujan pushed DBU ahead by seven points, 12-5, capping off a 7-0 burst. The Patriots took their first double-digit lead, 22-10, following a second-chance three-point jumper by Lujan with 10:32 left in the opening half.  Lujan was the first player to score double-digit, knocking down a pull-up jumper to extend DBU's lead before a CSM dunk trimmed the Patriots' double-digit lead to seven at the 8:33 mark.

A three-point jumper by Deng Dut pushed DBU's lead to 31-20 with 5:14 remaining in the first half. The Orediggers were held without a made field goal for just over three minutes before they knocked in a layup after the under-four media timeout. The Patriots' lead fluctuated between 10 and 12 as the two teams traded buckets until a 7-0 scoring run by CSM trimmed their lead to five, 36-31,  forcing DBU to call a timeout with 34 seconds left in the first half. The Orediggers extended their bust to 10-0 as they knocked in a three-point jumper with two seconds left to cut the Patriots lead to two. At the break, the Patriots remained ahead 36-34. 

The two teams traded buckets out of the break, combining to score 12 points within the first three minutes of the second-half action. Two free throws by Ta'Jay Dunlap cut the back-and-forth affair before a bucket by Lujan extended DBU's lead back to double digits, 48-38, capping off a 6-0 scoring burst with 17:35 to play in the second half. The Orediggers once again cut the Patriots' lead to seven before a three-point stepback jumper by Dut established a 10-point lead for the Patriots, 56-46 at 13:46. DBU reached their largest lead of the second half so far, 66-51, at the 9:45 mark following a 12-2 scoring burst.

CSM trimmed the scoring margin to 11, 68-57, following a shooting foul on David Bradley before a layup and free throw combo by Kahn extended the DBU's lead to 16. The Patriots closed out another seven-point burst as Kahn joined Lujan with 20 points, forcing CSM to call a 30-second timeout after being left scoreless for 2:33. Following the final media timeout, the Orediggers trimmed DBU's lead to 10, 75-65, with 3:24 to play. A set of free throws from Frank pushed the Patriots lead back to 16, 83-67 with 1:33 left in the second half. Free throws by Dunlap with less than a minute remaining helped the Patriots finish off the 86-73 victory. 


THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
-On Sunday, the Patriots advance to the South Central Semifinals for a rematch against top-seeded West Texas A&M.
- DBU shot 56.7% in the first half. 
- The Patriots outscored the Orediggers in the paint, 40-24. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
4- Four Patriots scored double figures, including Ricky Lujan (20), Cameron Kahn (20), Deng Dut (15) and Trevor Frank (12). 
17- DBU forced 17 turnovers from CSM. 
80- The Patriots were 80% from the charity stripe, 16-20. 

DBU HEAD COACH BLAKE FLICKNER POST-GAME COMMENTS
"What a game! It's so difficult in March, and it's a bummer for two Top 25 teams to have to play each other in the first round; those are Sweet 16-type games. These games are tough and physical and I am proud of how our guys came out. Cam and Ricky were phenomenal and gave us everything they had, while Justin and Trev were huge off the bench. Deng's coming out and showing no rust after being out for the last month is a testament to his grit and toughness. Finding a way and moving on to the next round is exciting!" 

UP NEXT
DBU returns to action on Sunday, March 17, in the South Central Regional Semifinals to face West Texas A&M. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.  Read Full Article