THE RUNDOWN
No. 24-ranked DBU (16-6, 10-2 LSC) went on the road and took down West Texas A&M (14-8, 6-6 LSC) in a game that was controlled by the Patriots, but remained close through the final buzzer.
AJ Borden led the group in scoring with 18 points and finished one rebound shy of a double-double in DBU's 86-84 win.
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Drew Calderon opened the scoring with a three-pointer, and for the first five minutes of the contest, the two teams alternated buckets. Knotted up at 13, the Patriots went on a 5-0 run to take an 18-13 lead with 14 minutes left in the first half. The Buffs would do their part to claw back, forcing ties at both 21 and 23, before DBU went on an 11-2 run to make it 34-25. The Patriots would hold onto that advantage for the remainder of the half, and would go to the locker room leading 47-38.
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AJ Borden and
TJ Thomas led the team in the first frame with nine points each, while Borden held the game lead with five rebounds at the break.
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The second half would open the exact same way as the first, with a three from
Drew Calderon. With a 54-45 lead,
TJ Thomas would land two consecutive three-pointers, giving him his fourth and fifth three-point field goals and pushing DBU's lead to 15. However, over the next five minutes of game time, the Buffs would rattle off a 24-9 stretch, knotting the game at 69 with eight minutes remaining. The Patriots, kick-started by a
Trevor Frank and-one, would respond by cashing in a 10-2 run, claiming the lead once and for all. West Texas A&M would work it back to a one-point game in a late-stage free-throw battle, but it wouldn't be enough as the Patriots earned their tenth conference win of the season as the final buzzer went off.
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THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- The LSC leader in assists,
Xavion Brown, led everyone on the floor with five this afternoon (101 on the season).
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Trevor Frank sits eight removed from his 200th career three-pointer.
- Frank poked a game-high four steals this afternoon (51 on the season).
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INSIDE THE NUMBERS
71.4% -
TJ Thomas landed five of his seven three-point attempts today.
3 - For just the third time this season, DBU committed more turnovers than they forced.
2 - Two points is the smallest margin of victory DBU has had this season (prev. 4 vs Missouri-St. Louis).
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HEAD COACH BLAKE FLICKNER ON THIS AFTERNOON'S WIN
"Phenomenal, gritty win against one of the best programs in the LSC. Very emotional and competitive from start to finish. Really proud of the way guys problem solved on the fly and found a way in a tough environment. Huge win for our program today. This has been a difficult stretch and in the LSC, it just continues every night."
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COMING UP NEXT
The Patriots return home next weekend to host UT Tyler and Lubbock Christian. Thursday's tip-off against the Tyler Patriots is scheduled for 7:00 pm.
