Defiance Races Past Madonna, 90-79, in Non-Conference Tilt

DEFIANCE, Ohio – Nick Sales led a parade of four Yellow Jackets in double figures and posted his third-straight double-double performance to help lead Defiance to a 90-79 victory against Madonna inside the Karl H. Weaner Community Center on Wednesday evening.

Sales led all DC players with 16 points and 11 rebounds, while dishing out three assists for the 22nd double-double of his career. Kyle Tietje was next in the scoring column with 14 points, while Mike Floyd had 12 points and four assists. Heath Armstrong knocked in four attempts from beyond the arc and ended the contest with 12 points.

The high-powered Yellow Jacket attack blitzed the Crusaders from the opening tip and used a 21-4 spurt to open up a 25-8 advantage with 8:20 showing on the clock in the first half.

The lead remained in double figures until a late rally from Madonna trimmed the gap to 38-31 at the break. The Crusaders attempted to carry the momentum into the second half, using a trifecta to draw within 40-34 but a Brandon Campbell jumper and back-to-back layups from Floyd stemmed the tide, before a Tietje dunk opened the DC lead back to a comfortable 14-point margin with 16:35 left in the game.

One final spurt from the visiting Madonna squad cut the Defiance cushion to 73-66 at the 5:49 mark but the Jackets had the answer once again. A pair of free throws from Tietje pushed the spread back to nine points, before Sales stole the ensuing inbounds pass and assisted a Logan Wolfrum three-point dagger that lifted the Purple and Gold's lead back to 12 and sent DC to the easy, 90-79, victory.

Defiance (7-2) will take an extended break for the holidays, before hosting OSU-Lima, DePauw and Adrian for the 35th-Annual Purple and Gold Financial Tournament on December 29 and 30.

The action will begin with DePauw and Adrian at 5:00 pm on December 29, with DC and OSU-Lima following at 7:00 pm. December 30 will feature the consolation game at 5:00 pm and the title game at 7:00 pm.