Turnovers Prove Too Much for Jackets in Road Defeat

ANDERSON, Ind. – In a key conference clash between two of the top teams in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference, Defiance was its own worst enemy. The Jackets turned the ball over 17 times, which led to 22 points for Anderson in the 75-68 win for the Ravens.

DC coughed the ball up 10 times in the first 17 minutes and the host team capitalized by turning the miscues into 14 points and a 32-23 advantage. The nine-point spread would last to the break, with AU holding a 35-26 lead.

The Jackets tightened up on the offensive end for the second stanza and wasted little time getting back into the game. DC opened the half with an 8-1 rally and pulled to within 38-37 on a three from Heath Armstrong at the 16:41 mark.

Anderson managed to keep the lead by unloading a barrage of three-point shots to hold the Jackets at bay over the next several minutes. Consecutive treys from Jordan Wiseman reclaimed a seven-point spread.

After DC fought back to trim the deficit to two points, Brock Morrison and Wiseman each knocked in long-range jumpers to cap an 8-0 rally and push the Ravens to their largest lead of the game at 57-47 with 10:17 to play.

The Jackets buckled down once again and turned to Mike Floyd for a three and a pair of Nick Sales buckets to fuel a 7-0 run and ignite Defiance's final push of the afternoon.

The seven-unanswered points cut the deficit to 57-54 and two-straight hoops from Anthony Pettaway completed the comeback and locked the teams at 62-62 with 4:33 showing on the clock.

Armstrong then drained his fifth trey of the half and capped the 18-7 stretch for the Purple and Gold by lifting the Jackets to a 65-64 lead just over one minute later.

DC's only lead of the contest would be short lived however, as the Jackets went scoreless over the next several minutes until a Floyd three with 19 seconds left in the game ended a 9-0 AU rally and made it a 73-68 score in favor of Anderson. The Floyd three would end up being Defiance's last gasp in the 75-68 loss.

DC shot 65.4 percent from the field in the second half to get back into the game and placed four players in double figures. Sales ended with 19, while Floyd and Armstrong had 15 and Pettaway tacked on 13.

Defiance (8-6, 3-2 HCAC) had its five-game win streak over Anderson snapped with the loss and will look to rebound on Wednesday, when its hosts Mount St. Joseph at 7:30 pm.