Jackets show offensive balance to beat Goshen, improve to 2-0

DEFIANCE, Ohio – The Defiance Yellow Jackets improved to 2-0 with a 75-57 home victory over the Goshen Maple Leafs while getting four players in double figures at the Karl H. Weaner Center on Wednesday night.

The Yellow Jackets (2-0) shot 45 percent and knocked down 9 3-pointers, earning the team's first 2-0 start under head coach Josh Gibson and for the first time since the 2019-20 season.

Defiance led the Maple Leafs (1-2) the entire night and held a team that scored 203 points in its first two games to just 57. The Yellow Jackets led by as many as 10 in the first half but spread the lead to a game-high 20 with 33 seconds left after Grady Toumazos laid in DC's last points of the night. Overall, the Jackets played a clean game, limiting themselves to just 3 turnovers in the first half and dominated the boards, 19-11, before halftime. DC was also aided by 13 second-chance points throughout the evening, including 8 in the first half.

The highlight of the opening half was Thomas Hallett's trio of 3-pointers. After the Jackets went 3-for-30 as a team in their season-opener, the junior transfer sank three straight attempts from beyond the arc in just under three minutes to push DC's lead from 2 to 8 points.

The offense came to a lull early in the second half but Jalen Brown provided a spark at the 12:39 mark with a strong take to the rack, ending a near 5-minute drought for Defiance. A pair of buckets by Carder Orr and Christian Burton stretched the Defiance lead back to double digits where it remained the rest of the night.  

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Defiance went 9-for-31 from 3-point range but was limited to 4-for-6 at the free throw line while Gosehn made 14-of-22 from the stripe.
• Christian Burton led Defiance in scoring with 13 points, which included three buckets in the last 11 minutes of the game. He also led all players with a game-high 8 assists to nearly miss a doubl-double.
• Thomas Hallett had 11 points before halftime and finished 3-for-5 from long range in the Jackets' win.
• Carter Sudhoff posted his second straight game in double figures with a 10-point performance. His first 6 points were tone-setting buckets once again as he racked up 3 makes in the first 6 minutes.
• Evan Angstmann turned in an 8-point, 8-rebound night to lead the Jackets on the boards. He also connected for a pair of 3-pointers.
• Donovan Stone was DC's top scorer after halftime, racking up 7 of his 10 points after the break and contributed key buckets to help Defiance pull away.
• Grady Toumazos and Landon Scarrettee each earned their first college points on DC's last two baskets of the night. Scarrettee nailed a left-corner 3-pointer, followed by Toumazos knifing through the lane.

UP NEXT
The Yellow Jackets continue their season-opening homestand next Tuesday at the Karl H. Weaner Center with a 7 p.m. date against the Miami-Middletown ThunderHawks.

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