DEFIANCE, Ohio – The Defiance College men’s basketball program will look to extend a 10-game home winning streak against non-conference foes when it hosts Knox College, Lakeland College and Trine University for the 37th-Annual Purple and Gold Financial Tournament on December 29 and 30, inside the Karl H. Weaner Community Center.

The Yellow Jackets have won their tournament in 20 of the previous 36 years, posting a 56-16 all-time record at the event and winning at least one game in all 36 showings. DC has gone 33-3 in the opening round, 3-0 in the consolation game and 20-13 in the tournament’s championship contest.

Defiance (2-7) also boasts a strong collective record against this year’s field, with a 51-36 all-time clip against the three visiting programs. All but one of those games came against Trine however, with DC sporting a 51-35 record against the Thunder and a 0-1 mark to Knox. The Jackets have never faced Lakeland on the planks.

DC has won five-straight games at the Purple and Gold Tournament, en route to claiming the past two championships and has claimed the crown in four of the last five years. The Jackets will be challenged to make it three championships in a row however, with a confident Knox squad awaiting Defiance in Thursday’s 7:00 pm affair.

Knox (2-6) opened the year with five-straight losses but has since notched a pair of victories, before pushing No. 3 Augustana to the horn in a 55-53 defeat. The post tandem of Joe Kozak and Lukas Shaw fuels the Prairie Fire with 26.6 points and 14.3 rebounds per night.

The Jackets will look to counter the strong interior game by Knox with the perimeter scoring of guards Logan Wolfrum, Mason Roth and Anthony Brown. DC’s top-three scorers are netting just under 40 points per outing as a unit.

In Thursday’s 5:00 pm game, a high-scoring Lakeland squad will go up against a red-hot Trine roster. The Lakeland Muskies (5-2) are pouring in 84.4 points per game, behind the nation’s fourth-leading scorer, Jake Schwarz, who is averaging 25.0 points per night. The Thunder (6-3) have won five-of-six games entering the tournament and are paced by Ian Jackson’s 21.0 points per showing.

The four teams will square off again on Friday, with the consolation game starting at 5:00 pm and the championship game following at 7:00 pm.

Single-day and all-tournament passes can be purchased at the gates. Single-day admissions will be six dollars for adults and four for senior citizens and students, while all-tournament passes will be sold for eight dollars for adults and six for senior citizens and students with identification.

#####