Jackets rally late, outlast Cougars in overtime

LANSING, Mich. – The Defiance Yellow Jackets made an 8-point deficit disappear in the final two minutes of regulation to force overtime and knocked off the Cleary Cougars 75-69 in the extra period at Gannon Gymnasium on Wednesday.

The Yellow Jackets (10-6, 5-6 WHAC) secured their fourth win in the last five games and improved to 3-0 in overtime games this season. The win over the Cougars (6-10, 5-6 WHAC) was DC's second straight win after trailing at halftime and third overall this year.

Defiance opened the game on a 12-0 run in which they were 5-for-9 from the floor, led by Carder Orr with 6 points and a 3-pointer by Evan Anstmann. However, DC tapered off and finished the half 5-for-22 and trailed by as many as 5 points before halftime. The Purple and Gold started the second half on another strong run of 8-0 featuring buckets by Orr, Christian Burton and two by Carter Sudhoff.

After Cleary stabilized and regained the upper hand, the Cougars ran out to a 6-point lead with 6:37 to play. Cleary's lead reached as many as 8 with 2:16 remaining in regulation but the Jackets erased that deficit in a hurry with 3-pointers by Thomas Hallett and Burton. Defiance gained possession via the arrow with 33 seconds left when Burton found Sudhoff underneath the hoop for the game-tying basket.

In the extra period, the two teams traded buckets until Baylen Blockberger delivered a clutch put-back to break a 66-66 tie. Both sides failed to score again for the next 2 minutes before Sudhoff rolled home another bucket to give the Jackets a two-possession cushion. Blockberger made a big play on the defensive end with a blocked shot, which led to an Orr tip-in following a pair of offensive rebounds. Cleary hit a 3-pointer to cut DC's 6-point lead to 3, but Orr sank 3 free throws in the final 22 seconds to ice the win.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• The Yellow Jackets and Cougars shot nearly identically from the floor with DC earning two more field goals overall. 
• Defiance won the battle of the boards, 51-42, led by Carder Orr's game-high 15 rebounds, which is also the most by a DC player this season.
• Orr recorded his first-career double-double with 13 points, complementing his 15 boards.
• Evan Angstmann led Defiance in scoring at 16 points and surpassed 500 career points in the contest. His two 3-pointers ratcheted his career total to 99.
• Sophomore Carter Sudhoff and Christian Burton each totaled 14 points. Burton completed his second double-double of the year with 10 assists and came 2 rebounds shy of a triple-double.
• Baylen Blockberger posted 7 points and 6 rebounds but starred defensively with 4 steals and 2 blocks.
• Defiance did not go deep in their bench, playing a season-low eight players.

UP NEXT
Defiance starts the second trip through the WHAC schedule with a home game on Saturday against the Lawrence Tech Blue Devils. Tipoff at the Karl H. Weaner Center is scheduled for 3 p.m.

-JACKETS-