THE RUNDOWN
Tuesday night at the Louise Herrington Patriot Center in Tyler, DBU (21-6, 15-2 LSC) defeated UT Tyler (12-11, 6-11 LSC) in a low-scoring nailbiter, 60-58.
TJ Thomas led the Patriots with 15 points, going a perfect 8/8 from the free throw line.
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UT Tyler opened the scoring with a layup before
Drew Calderon answered back with an inside bucket of his own. The Tyler Patriots jumped out to a 12-6 lead and would hold that advantage all the way until less than a minute before halftime, where
Trevor Frank tied the game at 29 from the free-throw line. On the next possession,
Jaden Shelvin would poke a steal and turn it into points, giving DBU its first lead of the game at 31-29. Eight seconds later, UT Tyler's John Barbee sank a three-pointer, to give the Tyler Patriots a 32-21 lead going into the halftime break.
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TJ Thomas and
Trevor Frank led DBU in the first half with seven points each, in a game where every point held just a little more weight than they usually do.
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Xavion Brown opened the second-half with a second-chance layup, giving DBU a 33-32 lead. Brown threw down a dunk on DBU's next possession, extending the lead to three. The next six points scored in the game would all come from the free throw line, and that exchange ended with DBU ahead 37-32. UT Tyler would then go on a 5-0 run to tie the game via a Kyle Morgan three pointer.
Cody Stevens would give DBU a two-point lead from the free throw line, and thus would begin a back-and-forth that would last until the final buzzer sounded.
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Morgan would give the Tyler Patriots the lead from deep again, this time at 41-40. DBU would then rattle off a quick 6-0 run, with contributions from Thomas, Shelvin, and Stevens. UT Tyler would climb back to take the lead with yet another three, this time from Christopher Carpenter (50-48). Carpenter would add five more points in the next several minutes, giving the Tyler Patriots a 55-51 lead with less than three minutes left.
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Bishop Jones would score four points in the span of a minute, sandwiching a pair of free throws from Tyler's Heath Tenner. This brought DBU within two, making the score 57-55 with a little over a minute remaining. Carpenter would go one-for-two from the line before
TJ Thomas sank a layup, bringing the Patriots within one (58-57). After a stop, Thomas would be sent to the line, converting both free throws to give the Patriots a 59–58 lead with 30 seconds remaining.
Justin Haire would make his way to the line with 21 seconds left, going one-for-two, making it 60-58. In their final possession, UT Tyler would turn the ball over, cementing DBU's 15th conference win of the season.
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THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- DBU shot just 26.2% from the field in tonight's win.
- The Patriots forced UT Tyler to turn the ball over a whopping 28 times.
- Two points is DBU's smallest margin of victory this season.
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INSIDE THE NUMBERS
200 -
Trevor Frank drilled his 200th career three-pointer tonight.
18 - The Patriots recorded 18 steals tonight, which is the third-most they've plucked this season.
57 - DBU forced 57 turnovers against UT Tyler in two games this season (29, 28).
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COMING UP NEXT
Following Tuesday's game, DBU will take on UT Dallas in Richardson. Saturday's tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 pm.
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