Defiance Suffers Disappointing Setback to Rockford

DEFIANCE, Ohio - The 34th-Annual Purple and Gold Financial Tournament got off to a rocky start for Defiance on Monday night, as the Yellow Jackets failed to slow a hot-shooting Rockford squad en route to a 95-89 loss.

The Regents connected on 11-of-15 shots from the floor to open the game, including a trio of makes from long distance, while opening up a 27-19 lead with 11:58 to play in the first stanza.

Defiance found its legs and fired back with a 17-5 run over the next 2:46 of action to grab a 36-32 lead, only to see Rockford answer immediately with back-to-back threes from Tyler Nauman and Danny Armelin to recapture the lead for good at 38-36 with 8:28 left in the first half.

RC would go on to sink 57.5 percent of its attempts in the opening 20 minutes to take a 56-52 lead at the break. Rockford hit eight shots from beyond the arc and rode 18 first-half points from Rennell Taylor to control the action.

It would be more of the same in the second stanza, as the Regents opened the half with a trey and went on to score at will on a sluggish Yellow Jacket defense over the first eight minutes of the half. Rockford penetrated repeatedly into the paint, leading to numerous open jumpers and uncontested layups for the visiting squad and resulting in a 79-64 advantage for Rockford with 12:38 showing on the clock.

The Jackets did manage to eventually right the ship on the defensive side of the ball, riding a determined effort from Anthony Jackson to hold Rockford to just 16 points over the game's final 12 minutes. DC used the RC drought to claw back to within three points at 88-85 and 90-87 but could not finish off the gritty comeback attempt.

Poor shooting from the perimeter did in Defiance, as the Purple and Gold hit just 20.6 percent from downtown in 34 attempts, while failing to capitalize on a significant advantage in the post. DC dominated play underneath the hoop and held a 16-point edge in the paint and an 18-rebound advantage, including 23 offensive caroms which led to a 26-4 bonus in second-chance points.

Anthony Pettaway, Kevin Tietje and Nick Sales led the charge in the paint, as the trio combined for 53 points on 19-of-31 shooting and teamed to haul in 32 rebounds. Pettaway managed just 11 shots but ended with 18 points and 12 boards, while Tietje posted his first career double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds and Sales added a team-high 19 points to go with seven boards.

Rockford (5-5) countered by hitting a blistering 55.2 percent of its shots on the night, including 12 makes from beyond the arc. Taylor shredded DC for 35 points and five assists and Taylor Stinson added 21 points on five-of-10 shooting from three-point territory.

Defiance (6-4) will look to get back in the win column on Tuesday, after having its five-game win streak snapped. The Jackets will take on Geneva (2-6) in the 5:00 pm contest, after the Golden Tornadoes dropped a 91-65 decision to Calvin (4-5) in Monday's early game.

Tuesday's title matchup will pit Calvin against Rockford in a 7:00 pm tip.