THE RUNDOWN
DBU (13-5, 7-1 LSC) fell to St. Mary's (12-4, 5-3 LSC) 66-64 on Thursday night, putting an end to the Patriots' 11-game win-streak, which tied a program record. For just the fourth time this season, DBU finished with fewer steals than its opponent (13-11).
Justin Haire led the team in scoring with 13 points on 4/7 shooting, while going 5/6 from the line.
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The Rattlers scored the first basket of the game one minute into the contest, and held that lead for 29:30 of game time before DBU was able to force a tie. In the first half, St. Mary's led by as much as 13 points, but the Patriots were able to shave that deficit down to four by the end of the period.
TJ Thomas led everyone on the floor with nine first-half points, and
Xavion Brown turned in a solid all-around first half (six points, five rebounds, three assists) to help DBU slice the deficit.
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Brown would open the second half with a pair of free throws to cut the lead to two, but the Rattlers responded with an 8-3 run, building their advantage back up to seven. With St. Mary's ahead 52-45 with 11:57 left to go, the Patriots would rattle off a 7-0 run to tie the game up for the first time since the jump ball to start the night. The two teams would trade buckets for a couple of possessions before a
Drew Calderon three-pointer gave DBU its first lead of the game at 59-57. The Rattlers would sink a pair of free throws before Calderon drilled another triple, pushing the Patriot lead to three.
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St. Mary's was then able to go on a 5-0 run, holding a two-point advantage before
AJ Borden knotted the score at 64 with 2:09 left to play. Neither team would score a single point until St. Mary's Wayne Wiggins was sent to the free-throw line with three seconds left. Wiggins went two-for-two, and DBU called a timeout to draw up an inbound play trailing 66-64.
TJ Thomas was able to get off a last-second three, but it was no good, as DBU's winning streak was officially brought to an end with the sound of the final buzzer.
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THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- DBU's season series against St. Mary's has been split 1-1.
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Justin Haire has finished in double figures in five of the last six games.
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AJ Borden led all Patriots with eight rebounds tonight.
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INSIDE THE NUMBERS
10 -
Jackson McCabe recorded his team-leading ninth and tenth blocks of the season tonight.
00:51 - The Patriots led for 51 seconds tonight.
+2 - DBU finished with two more rebounds than St. Mary's (35-33).
BLAKE FLICKNER ON THE CLOSE LOSS TO ST. MARY'S
"St Mary's was the tougher team today. They won the battle on the glass and for loose balls. That was the difference in the game. Give them credit, they are an excellent team, and they deserved to win tonight. We've got to learn from these situations and continue to try and improve. I'm proud of how we competed to battle back, but we started in a hole and just had too many mistakes."
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COMING UP NEXT
DBU will remain on the road to take on St. Edward's. Saturday's tip-off in Austin is scheduled for 3:00 pm.
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