Fast Start Propels Men's Hoops to 99-83 Win Over Franklin

DEFIANCE, Ohio – Defiance College poured in at least 90 points for the fourth time this season and improved to 7-0 at home with a lopsided, 99-83, victory over Franklin on Saturday afternoon. The win was DC's fourth-straight against the Grizzlies in the regular season.

The Jackets wasted little time setting the tone, taking total control of the paint by pulling down the game's first 11 rebounds and scoring their first six field goals of the day from inside the lane. That trend led to a quick double-digit lead for Defiance at 16-6 with 14:37 to go in the opening half.

DC never gave Franklin a chance to recover from the early surge, as the Jackets connected on seven of their next 11 shots to bury the Grizzlies with a 17-3 rally that widened the Defiance cushion to 33-9 with 9:30 remaining before the break. Anthony Brown fueled the charge with seven points during the 17-3 spurt, while Brandon Campbell capped it with a steal and a deuce to give Defiance the commanding 24-point lead.

That gap would swell to 53-28 by the break, behind a 36-12 lead in points in the paint by Defiance and a 27-13 edge on the glass. DC also outscored the Grizzlies 16-0 in second-chance points by chasing down 10 offensive boards in the opening 20 minutes.

The Defiance lead would climb to as many as 26 points on multiple possessions during the second stanza, with the last coming on a Kyle Tietje layup at the 15:16 marker. The bucket made it a 67-41 game in favor of the Jackets and allowed DC to coast to the 99-83 win.

Defiance assaulted the rim all throughout the afternoon, piling up 62 points in the paint and shooting 58.9 percent from inside the arc. Its trapping defense also led to 17 Franklin turnovers and 28 points from the FC (5-11, 3-4 HCAC) miscues.

Mike Floyd led the attack with 19 points, six assists, four steals and four rebounds, while Campbell added 14, Tietje scored 12, Brown had 11 and Logan Wolfrum netted 10.

Nick Sales was the sixth Yellow Jacket to score in double figures, ending the game with 14 and moving into a tie for 29th on DC's all-time scoring charts. Sales now stands at 1,141 and is even with Jeff Sever (1991-1995), just nine points shy of reaching 1,150 for his career.

Defiance (13-3, 4-3 HCAC) will look to continue its climb up the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference standings when it plays at Bluffton (0-16, 0-7 HCAC) on Wednesday at 7:30 pm, in the 183rd all-time meeting with the Beavers on the planks.