Defiance Prevails in Miller's Return to Weaner Center

DEFIANCE, Ohio – Defiance picked up its sixth-straight win over Hanover on Saturday to complete its third-straight season sweep over the Panthers on the hardwood. Jon Miller, who orchestrated the previous two DC sweeps from the Jackets' bench, could not stop it from happening a third time, as the Jackets pulled out a 50-47 win.

Hanover stayed close throughout the game by slowing the pace to a crawl and using nearly all of the shot clock on every possession. The slow pace, combined with poor shooting from both teams led to a 15-15 tie at the intermission, as both sides shot under 30 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes.

The action picked up in the second stanza, with the Panthers finding their touch from long range and using a trio of three-point shots to build a 30-24 advantage with 13:39 left in the game.

The Jackets stormed back behind a determined effort from Sales, as the junior forward logged five-straight points to trim the gap to a single point. Eric Stolly then knocked in DC's second and final trifecta of the afternoon to knot the score at 32-32 at the 9:19 mark.

Defiance and Hanover locked horns over the final nine minutes and neither side could pull away in the defensive struggle. HC temporarily regained the lead with a pair of free throws from Mitchell Meyer but back-to-back buckets in the paint from Anthony Pettaway and Sales lifted the Jackets to the 38-36 lead with just over six minutes to play.

The Jackets would never trail from that point on and claimed the lead for good on a pair of free throws from Sales with 1:09 showing on the clock.

Hanover halved the DC advantage with a successful attempt from Mike Case at the charity stripe but the Jackets knocked in all six of their free throws in the final 32 seconds to hold off the upstart Panthers for the 50-47 victory.

Defiance shot 50 percent from the field in the second half to pull out the three-point win and overcame a two-for-15 showing from beyond the arc by connecting on 14-of-16 from the free throw line.

Pettaway and Sales carried DC all game long, combining for 30 points and 14 boards on 14-of-19 shooting. Mike Floyd added seven points and dished out three assists to round out the top performers for Defiance.

With the three assists, Floyd now stands at 318 for his career and moves past Kirk Seemann (1986-1990) for second place in the history of the DC program.

Defiance moves to 12-6 overall and 7-2 in league play with its fourth-straight win and will look to match a season-best five-game streak when it plays at Manchester on January 31 at 3:00 pm.