Jackets Top Adrian in Overtime for John Dawson Championship

ADRIAN, Mich. – The Defiance College men's basketball team survived a late surge from the Adrian Bulldogs to pull out an overtime victory and claim the John Dawson Invitational Championship on Sunday afternoon. Nick Sales and Logan Wolfrum were named All-Tournament, with Wolfrum taking MVP honors.

The Jackets struggled in the early going and faced a quick deficit of 9-4, after hitting just two of their first seven shots and turning the ball over twice. The shooting woes from the perimeter would continue but DC battled through with a 7-0 spurt to take an 11-9 advantage.

Kyle Tietje's layup at the 7:52 mark lifted Defiance to a 13-11 lead, which the Jackets would not relinquish until Wesley Reed's three-point shot at the final horn drew Adrian even at 67-67.

Despite holding the Bulldogs to 19 first-half points, AC rallied for 48 points in the second stanza to stage the comeback and closed on a 17-7 rally over the final 5:11 of the second half. The comeback was completed on Reed's three, which was just Adrian's fourth make in 16 attempts.

Defiance refused to give in however, using strong play in the paint to hold the lead throughout the overtime session. Sales opened the scoring with a bucket and Wolfrum assisted Nate Conley to put DC up for good at 71-69. Hoops from Kevin Tietje and Sales extended the lead to five points, before Wolfrum and Heath Armstrong combined to hit four-straight free throws to secure the 79-72 victory.

DC overcame 4-of-17 shooting from three-point range, by hitting 55.8 percent of its field goals from inside the arc. The Jackets also sank 19 attempts from the charity stripe to bolster the scoring attack.

Sales led the charge with 21 points, six rebounds and three assists, while Wolfrum continued his strong play with 16 points and six assists. Kyle Tietje added 13 points and eight rebounds to help DC build a 44-33 edge on the glass.

Wolfrum averaged 22.0 points, 6.5 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals during the two DC wins and hit eight-of-10 shots from beyond the arc, while going 12-of-12 from the free throw line to be named the John Dawson Invitational Most Valuable Player.

Sales netted 19.0 points, 8.0 boards and 2.5 steals per outing to help the Jackets claim the John Dawson Invitational Championship and joined Wolfrum on the All-Tournament Team.

DC's duo was joined by Justin McKinney of Marygrove, Ben Hodkinson of Mount Union and Matt Wayne of Adrian to round out the All-Tournament Team.

Defiance (3-0) will look to continue its hot start when it plays its home opener on Tuesday. The Jackets will host Ohio Wesleyan (1-1) inside the Karl H. Weaner Community Center with the tip set for 7:30 pm. The Bishops will represent a strong test for the surging DC squad, as OWU garnered a pair of votes in the D3hoops.com Preseason Top 25 poll.