Dunbar Drops a Season High 18 in Rout of Earlham

DEFIANCE, OHIO  --  Defiance College freshman Blake Dunbar (Napoleon) scored a season and game-high 18 points as the Yellow Jacket men's basketball team defeated Earlham (Ind.) College, 82-57, in a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference game at the Karl H. Weaner Center.

Dunbar scored all of his points from behind the arc and shot 75.0 percent (six-of-eight) to go along with three rebounds.  Junior Tyler Alexander (Indianapolis, Ind./Northwest) was the only other Jacket to score in double figures with 17 points.  

As a team, DC shot 54.5 percent (30-of-55) from the field and out-rebounded the Quakers, 39-33.

Earlham (1-13, 0-7 HCAC) scored the game's first basket, but would then go on a 5:49 scoring drought that allowed Defiance (7-7, 5-2 HCAC) to score 16 unanswered points which led to a 33-11 advantage at the 7:43 minute mark following a jumper by Alexander.  The Yellow Jackets then suffered a scoring drought of their own which allowed the Quakers to score 11 straight points to narrow the gap to 33-22 with 3:24 remaining in the period.

Alexander ended the Earlham scoring run with a bucket, but DC saw its earlier lead fall to nine points, 35-26, on four straight Quaker free-throws making the score 35-26, with just over a minute to go before halftime.  Back-to-back baskets by junior Michael Parker (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) and Alexander rounded out the scoring for DC and extended the margin back to double digits, 39-26.  

Earlham tallied the final points of the period on a jumper to make the score 39-28 at the intermission.

Defiance began the second half with an 11-2 run that ended in a three-point play by Alexander and gave the Jackets their first 20-point lead of the game, 50-30, with 17:47 to go in the contest.  DC maintained its double-digit lead the rest of the way as Earlham would get no closer than 13 points, 59-46, at the 9:02 mark.

The Yellow Jackets recorded their largest lead of the game of 28 points, 81-53, with 2:40 left to play thanks to a basket by sophomore Jonathan Ragland (Wilmette, Ill./Loyola Academy).  Earlham outscored DC, 4-1, in the final minutes, but the Jackets already had the game in hand and went on to post the 82-57 win.

Earlham shot 32.3 percent (21-of-65) from the field and was held to just 25.0 percent (six-of-24) from long range.  The Quakers were led in scoring by Taylen Alexander with 13 points.  Elijah Wilson-Thomas rounded out the high scorers with 11 points.

Defiance will host Rose-Hulman (Ind.) Institute of Technology on Saturday, Jan. 16 in a HCAC matchup at the Weaner Center.  The game will be part of a basketball doubleheader with the Yellow Jacket women's team.  The women will tip-off against the Fightin' Engineers at 1 p.m., followed by the men at 3 p.m.