Yellow Jackets Soar Past Ravens for HCAC Victory

DEFIANCE, OHIO - The Defiance College men's basketball team gave the Yellow Jacket faithful plenty to cheer about on Thursday evening. Defiance shattered their winless HCAC streak with a 77-60 performance over the Anderson Ravens. 

Sean Tyson (Columbus / Centennial) led the way for DC, grabbing a third consecutive double-digit performance with 19 points. Jordan Maschino (Bradford / Covington) followed up with 15 points. Tyler Andrew (Indianapolis, Ind. / Lawrence Central) burst into the contest with a double-double, pushing through 13 points and 11 rebounds to help the Jackets climb to victory. 

Coach Scott Cutter's Yellow Jackets showed that they were ready to snap their winless skid straight from the start, jumping out to a 9-3 lead just minutes into the contest. With the score sitting at 19-16, DC looked to push their lead. A seven point run, including an emphatic dunk from Demoines Whitney (Detroit, Mich. / Western), had the Yellow Jackets rolling through the first half with a 27-16 lead. 

A Tyson layup with just over a minute left wrapped up the first half scoring for the Purple and Gold. The Ravens found a few more points late in the half, but trailed the home side 32-28 as the teams headed toward the locker rooms. 

The second half was underway with back-and forth action. Finding the score tied 39-39, a Devin Goodwyn (Detroit, Mich. / Chippewa Valley) and-one followed by a three-point field goal sparked life into the Defiance crowd. Up eight, the Yellow Jackets looked to lock down the Raven offense. 

The visitors slowly closed the deficit, fighting back to within two with just over nine minutes left to play. Five straight DC points continued to allow the hosts play their style of basketball, holding a seven point advantage.

With Andrew at the free throw line, the Jackets broke into a double-digit lead 67-56, and never looked back. With a 15 point lead and a fired up Yellow Jacket bench, a David Ortiz (Pataskala / Watkins Memorial) jumper with just 35 seconds left solidified the Yellow Jacket victory. 

The win brings Defiance's record to 3-17 on the season, with a 1-12 mark in HCAC play. The Yellow Jackets will return home Saturday, Feb. 2, as they take on Mount St. Joseph at 3:00 pm.