Wolfrum Eclipses 1,600 Career Points in Loss at Hanover

HANOVER, Ind. – Defiance College's senior point guard, Logan Wolfrum, became the seventh player in program history to reach 1,600 points for a career and climbed into a tie for fifth place on DC's all-time scoring list with 22 points in an 84-74 loss at Hanover on Saturday.

Wolfrum moved past Jim Harris (1987-1991) and ended the afternoon with 1,616 points and in a tie with Eric Viney (1998-2002) as the fifth-leading scorer all-time for the Purple and Gold. The Defiance, Ohio, native also moved to within four points of Curt Croy (2002-2006) for fourth place all-time and second in Defiance history at the NCAA Division III level.

The milestones were tempered by the Yellow Jackets' struggles against an aggressive Hanover press defense however, as Defiance turned the ball over 14 times in the opening 20 minutes of action and connected on only one-of-six attempts from beyond the arc.

Despite the sloppy play, DC stayed within reach of the Panthers by sinking its first 13 tries from the free throw line and controlling the glass. Ryan Hicks and Mason Roth also helped the Jackets hang close by combining for 22 of the squad's first 30 points on seven-of-eight shooting from the field.

Hanover closed the opening half on a 10-4 stretch to finally distance itself from Defiance with a 43-34 halftime advantage, behind 20 points on nine-of-10 shooting from Brian Gunter.

The Panthers continued the run with seven of the first nine points to start the second period, extending their lead to a 50-36 gap before Defiance rode a hot spurt from Wolfrum to claw back into the game.

Wolfrum started the surge with a triple at the 13:11 mark to narrow the deficit to 57-50 and push him over the 1,600-point barrier for his career. Wolfrum did not slow there, following the historic hoop with another three-point make and assisting Hicks for a deuce to draw within 61-55.

Wolfrum then drained his third three-point shot to narrow the HC margin to 62-58 at the 11:31 mark and added two more baskets to make it 66-62 in favor of the Panthers with 8:24 to play.

HC countered the flurry from Wolfrum by turning back to Gunter for five-straight points to build its lead back to 73-66 with 6:15 showing on the clock and continued to answer points from Wolfrum and the Jackets, while holding on for the 84-74 win.

Wolfrum ended the afternoon with 22 points, while Hicks set a new career-high with 24 and Roth set a season-high with 19. The trio combined for 65 of the Jackets' 74 points, while the rest of the squad accounted for only nine points on one-of-15 shooting from the floor.

DC had no answer for HC's Gunter, who ended with a career-high 31 points on 12-of-15 shooting from the field and a four-of-six showing from behind the three-point line.

Defiance was also haunted by its turnovers all afternoon, matching a season-high with 19 miscues that led to 20 points for Hanover (11-6, 8-2 HCAC). The 19 turnovers were the most for DC since matching that total in an 85-81 loss at Anderson on December 5, 2012 and the 84 points allowed were also the highest yielded by the Purple and Gold since that loss to the Ravens.

The Jackets will get a chance to avenge that defeat to Anderson (7-10, 3-7 HCAC), when they host the Ravens on Wednesday, January 23 at 7:30 pm.