Gilmer Posts Double-Double in Loss to Alma

DEFIANCE, OHIO  --  Senior Keandre Gilmer (Toledo/Rogers) recorded a double-double with 11 points and a team-high 10 rebounds in a 76-64 loss against Alma (Mich.) College in the final game of the Purple & Gold Financial Invitational at the Karl H. Weaner Center.

Gilmer recorded 10 or more rebounds in back-to-back games with his 10-rebound effort against the Scots.  Senior Michael Parker (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) led Defiance in scoring with a game-high 16 points.  Parker shot five-of-20 (25.0 percent) from the floor with 19 of his 20 shots coming from behind the arc.  

Senior Devin Mangas (Leipsic) was second in scoring with 15 points to go along with seven boards, and Gilmer rounded out the high scorers with his 11 points.

Alma (4-7) led throughout the contest and began the game with back-to-back jumpers to net the early lead.  The Scots went on to increase their lead to eights points, 13-5, when Defiance (3-8) connected on a pair of triples from Mangas and sophomore Noah Goodrich (Toledo/Genoa) to make it a one-possession game, 13-11, with 13:18 to go in the first half.

The Scots answered the DC rally with a scoring run of their own, scoring eight unanswered points to extend the margin to 10 points, 21-11, at the 9:44 mark.  The Yellow Jackets got to within five points, 23-18, with just over seven-and-a-half minutes to go when Alma began to pull away with an ensuing 10-2 scoring run to lead by 13 points, 33-20.

Alma maintained their double-digit lead the rest of the half with its largest lead of 14 points, 39-25, coming at the 1:50 mark en route to having a 39-29 advantage at the break.

Defiance pulled to within single figures early in the second half and got to within five points, 41-36, following a bucket by freshman Payton Ross (Indianapolis, Ind./Arlington).  But that would be as close as the Jackets got the rest of the game as Alma outscored DC, 8-2, to go back ahead by double figures, 49-38, with 12:41 remaining.

Trailing by 14 points, 58-44, Defiance made a late push with a 9-2 run that ended in a pair of free-throws by Mangas that narrowed the gap to seven points, 60-53, at the 6:07 mark.  Alma then tallied a triple to go up by 10 points, 63-53, and eventually went on to record its largest lead of the game of 15 points, 76-61, with 21 seconds to go.

The final points of the game came from Mangas on a three-pointer with 15 seconds left, but the game would go in favor of the visitors with the final score of 76-64.

Defiance will host Anderson (Ind.) University in a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference game on Wednesday, Jan. 4 at the Weaner Center.  The game is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.