Jackets unable to slow down Siena Heights on Saturday

DEFIANCE, Ohio – Saturday's WHAC men's basketball game at the Karl H. Weaner Center saw the Defiance Yellow Jackets drop an 86-78 contest to the Siena Heights Saints.

The Yellow Jackets (10-9, 5-9 WHAC) dropped their third straight while the Saints (7-13, 3-11 WHAC) claimed their third win in four games.

An early stalemate tipped in Defiance's favor halfway through the first half when the Jackets built an 8-point lead, 22-14. Siena Heights rallied to take the lead 4 minutes later on a 3-point play by Jack Olis, who finished with a game-high 31 points for the Saints. Siena Heights opened up a 5-point lead before the break but a 3-point play by DC's Jalen Brown trimmed the gap to 2 points heading into the locker room.

Defiance struggled shooting the ball after halftime and watched the Saints build a 10-point lead over the first 3:23 of the second half. However, the Defiance defense created a flurry of buckets to pull within 2 points with 14 minutes to play. The Saints out-muscled the Jackets on the boards in the second half, 19-7, which played a role in that 2-point deficit growing back into double digits. Donovan Stone delivered several big baskets coming down the stretch on his way to a 20-point performance, but the DC defense was unable to come up with enough defensive stops to turn the tide.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Both sides shot the ball well, finishing over 50 percent for the game. Defiance's 51.6 percent shooting percentage was their highest in a game this season.
• With a 33-24 rebounding deficit, it was the third straight game DC has lost the battle of the boards. Defiance is now 1-6 when losing the rebounding competition.
• Siena Heights also made hay at the free throw line, going 22-for-26 while DC was limited to just 6 attempts in the game.
• Donovan Stone's 20 points off the bench are his second 20-point effort of the season and matched a career-high with 4 3-pointers.
• Jalen Brown poured in 17 more in a bench role, his 10th game in double figures this year.
• Wren Sheets tallied 10 points off the DC bench as well, his third game scoring 10 or more.
• Christian Burton passed off 8 assists in the contest to lead all players.

UP NEXT
Defiance takes on the Lourdes Gray Wolves on Wednesday night and will be the first game of the WHAC doubleheader, starting at 5:30 p.m. at Russell J. Ebeid Recreation Center.

-JACKETS-