Jackets Turn in Season-Low 62 Points in Loss to Pioneers

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 23-ranked and Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference leading Transylvania Pioneers put on a defensive clinic on Saturday, holding Defiance to a season-low point total and defeating the Yellow Jackets by a 75-62 margin. 

DC never trailed in the first meeting with Transylvania, handling the Pioneers by a 74-64 count inside the Karl H. Weaner Community Center on January 7. The loss bounced TU from the top-25 and out of first-place in the league standings. 

Transylvania (17-2, 11-1 HCAC) rebounded from the setback to win its next five games entering play on Saturday and did not slow down against the DC attack this time around. The Pioneers used an early 18-4 rally to take an 18-8 lead and maintained the 10-point spread for the duration of the half with a 35-25 edge at the break. 

The Jackets narrowed the gap to 41-34 in the opening minutes of the final stanza, only to see another extended spurt by the home squad put the game out of reach. This time, Transylvania rode a 15-2 surge to open a 20-point gap at 56-36 with 8:05 to go and held on for the 75-62 victory. 

Defiance struggled from long distance, connecting on only four-of-16 attempts from three-point territory and saw the Pioneers sink 49 percent of their attempts from the floor. 

Logan Wolfrum paced the Jackets with 20 points, doing much of that damage from the charity stripe on a 12-of-12 performance. Jeff Hugan responded to his first collegiate start by going for 10 points and six rebounds, while Anthony Brown added 10 points on four-of-seven shooting.