Yellow Jackets Upset No. 18 Wheaton (Ill.) In Final Seconds

DEFIANCE, OHIO  --  Senior forward Bernard Edwards (Detroit, Mich./Warren Cousino) netted the go-ahead bucket with three seconds to go as the Defiance College men's basketball team upset No. 18 nationally-ranked Wheaton (Ill.) College, 67-65, in a non-conference game at the Karl H. Weaner Center.

Bernard Edwards finshed the game with 22 points on eight-of-14 shooting (57.1 percent).  Senior guard Travis Schomaeker (Ottawa/Ottawa-Glandorf) scored 16 points and connected on four three-pointers, including a triple at the 1:41 mark that gave the Yellow Jackets the advantage and helped lead to the Bernard Edwards game-winner.  In addition, junior forward Wade Wooley (Wauseon) grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.  

Wheaton (1-1) scored the game's first six points on a pair of three-pointers and later led by eight points, 12-4, at the 14:47 minute mark of the first half.  Defiance (2-0) then went on an 8-0 scoring run with all eight points scored by Schomaeker thanks to a pair of triples and a jumper to even the score at 12-12 with 12:07 left in the period.  The Yellow Jackets later took their first lead of the game at the 10:27 mark with a three-point play by Bernard Edwards.  Both teams went back-and-forth the rest of the way with neither squad leading by more than four points.  Both four-point leads were recorded by DC, including a 32-28 margin with just over a minute-and-a-half left following a jumper by senior forward Kent Tietje (Hamler/Patrick Henry).  The Thunder hit a triple to end their scoring in the period, but a bucket by Bernard Edwards extended the DC lead to three points, 34-31, at the half.

Defiance maintained a slim margin in the early minutes of the second half.  Leading by four points, 45-41, with 15:12 to go in the game, Wheaton made their run, outscoring the Jackets, 8-0, to regain the lead, 49-45.  The Thunder boosted their lead to as many as six points, 59-53, at the 7:02 mark, but the Jackets rallied again and later tied the game for the eighth time in the contest thanks to a bucket by Bernard Edwards with 2:18 to go.  Following a pair of free-throws by Wheaton, Schomaeker made a critical three-pointer to put DC up by a point.  Bernard Edwards later converted one-of-two free-throws to extend the margin to two points, but Wheaton made good on a layup attempt to deadlock the game yet again.  DC set up for a potential final shot of the game which led to Bernard Edwards hitting what turned out to be the game-winner from the top of the key with three seconds remaining.  Wheaton had one final shot to tie or win, but the shot missed its mark, sealing the victory for the Jackets.

Wheaton ended up shooting 45.1 percent (23-of-51) from the field, including 42.1 percent (eight-of-19) from long range and 84.6 percent (11-of-13) from the free-throw line.  Michael Berg led all Thunder players with 18 points, while Brayden Teuscher added 17 points and Caleb DeMoss scored 10 points to round out the high scorers.  

Defiance will look for a third straight victory when the Jackets travel to Ada for a non-conference matchup against Ohio Northern University next Tuesday, Nov. 25.  The game is set to begin at 7:30 p.m.