Jackets Rout Hanover to Open HCAC Title Defense

HANOVER, Ind. – After opening the 2008-2009 season with five non-conference affairs, the Defiance College men's basketball team got its first taste of conference play on Saturday and rolled to a 103-78 victory at Hanover.

The Jackets had little trouble finding the hoop in their HCAC opener and topped the century mark by connecting on a sizzling 57.1-percent clip from the field and draining 14-of-26 attempts from beyond the arc.

Defiance used an early assault from long distance to take control in the first half. No player was hotter than Anthony Brown, as the freshman two-guard connected on his fourth trifecta of the afternoon to open up a 41-28 lead for DC with 5:18 remaining in the opening half.

The Yellow Jacket edge would grow to 15 at the break, as Defiance sank nine treys and hit 58.8 percent of its attempts from the field, en route to pouring in 53 first half points and taking the 53-38 lead to the intermission.

DC then put the game out of reach with a 19-13 spurt to open the second stanza and pushed its spread to 72-51 with just over 13 minutes left in the game. Hanover would never get back within striking distance and the Jackets rolled to the 103-78 victory for their fifth-straight win over the Panthers on the hardwood.

Defiance placed five players in double-digits and saw eight players log at least eight points in the 25-point win. Heath Armstrong and Brown combined for 12 makes from beyond the arc and paced DC with 17 and 16 points each, while Kevin Tietje hit seven-of-eight shots on his way to 15 points.

The tandem of Anthony Pettaway and Kyle Tietje quietly pitched in with a pair of solid efforts, as each ended one rebound shy of a double-double showing. Pettaway went for 12 points, nine boards and two blocks, while Tietje posted 11 points and chased down nine caroms.

Nick Sales added nine points, while Eric Stolly and Josh Stuckey joined the scoring parade with eight points each. Mike Floyd managed only three points, but ran the up-tempo attack nearly flawlessly by dishing out a career-best 13 assists and turning the ball over only one time.

Defiance evens its record at 3-3 overall and moves to 1-0 in league play. The Jackets will play their first home contest of the season on Dec. 13, when they host Manchester (4-4, 0-2 HCAC) inside the Karl H. Weaner Community Center at 3:00 pm.