Men’s basketball comes up short in conference road game

NEW MANCHESTER, Ind. – Away from home, the Defiance College men's basketball team came up short, 84-77, in a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference game with the Manchester University Spartans on Wednesday night at Stauffer-Wolfe Arena.

The loss makes Defiance 10-10 overall, including 5-8 in the HCAC (eighth place) while Manchester is 8-12 and 6-7 (seventh), respectively.

The Yellow Jackets had its first lead at 25-24 with 7:28 left in the opening half before the Spartans established a couple of 14-point advantages and led, 44-32, at the intermission. In a back-and-forth second half, DC took its biggest lead of the contest, 58-51, with 10:37 to go but the hosts went back on top, 68-66, with 5:19 remaining and never trailed again.

Defiance was a perfect 12 of 12 on its free throws but was outscored by six as MU had twice as many attempts from the line. Each team made 29 field goals with Manchester connecting on eight three-pointers and the Yellow Jackets seven. DC was outrebounded, 38-29, but had more steals (13-9), blocked shots (4-3) and fewer turnovers (16-19) than the Spartans.

Tyler Andrew (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence Central) paced Defiance with 22 points, shooting 9 of 12 from the floor and 4 of 4 at the foul line. Sean Tyson (Columbus, Ohio/Centennial) recorded 17 points, five assists and a season- and game-high four steals while freshman Jack Kolar (Cincinnati, Ohio/Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy) tossed in 12 points, knocking down 4-of-8 three-point baskets off the bench. Freshman David Perkins (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) pulled down a game-best eight rebounds in a reserve role.

The Jackets are back on the road for an HCAC contest against Mount St. Joseph University this Saturday at 2 p.m. in Cincinnati, Ohio. The game precedes the 4 p.m. women's matchup between DC and Mount St. Joseph.