THE RUNDOWN
Saturday afternoon, No. 3 ranked DBU (0-1) fell to No. 13 Michigan Tech (1-0) in an overtime thriller to begin the new season.
Fans on both sides waited nearly four minutes for the first basket of the game, but a
Jaden Shelvin layup at 16:02 got the ball rolling on a new season of Patriot Basketball.
The Huskies responded the very next possession with a three, before DBU rattled off their longest run of the afternoon to take a 13-3 lead early on. A
Drew Calderon three-ball would give DBU its largest lead of the night at 24-11 with six minutes left in the first half. A pair of mini-runs mixed in from the Huskies would make the score 34-27 DBU at the half.
Four different Patriots ended the first half with at least five points, and DBU out-rebounded Michigan Tech for the first 20 minutes (18-17).
Immediately out of the halftime break, Michigan Tech went on a 10-0 run to take the lead. The contest would remain tight for the remainder of regulation, with neither team able to generate an advantage larger than four points.
With two minutes left in regulation, Calderon would sink a layup to tie the game at 58. The Huskies and Patriots would then trade trips to the free-throw line, when
Xavion Brown's free throws knotted the game at 60. In a big spot late in the game, those were the only free throws Brown made in the season opener.
The Huskies' Josh Terrian, after being held without a field goal the entire game, drained a three with four seconds left to give Michigan Tech a 63-60 lead.
Dr. Blake Flickner would respond by calling a timeout and dialing a full-court inbound play that left
Daniel Figueira and
Cody Stevens down the court as options to take the last shot.
Dribbling across half-court,
Xavion Brown found Figueira open in the left corner, and the sophomore from Portugal sent the season opener to overtime tied at 63.
In the overtime period, Michigan Tech shot 66.7% from the field and held the Patriots without a field goal in the five-minute frame, as the Huskies went on to win 75-70.
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THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
-
Drew Calderon led the team with 19 points
- DBU was out-rebounded 51-35 this afternoon, despite holding the rebound advantage at halftime.
- The Patriots shot 50% from the free-throw line this afternoon (17-for-34).
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
7 -
Xavion Brown led everybody on the floor with seven stocks this afternoon (one block, six steals).
+5 - DBU finished the game with a plus-five turnover differential (24-19).
0% - The Patriots were 0-7 from the field in overtime (7-for-11 at the free throw line).
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COMING UP NEXT
DBU will battle No. 2 Washburn (1-0) tomorrow afternoon. Tip-off is scheduled for 12:15 CST.
