Men's Basketball Wins Thriller in Exhibition Opener

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Tyler Andrew (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence Central) hit a three-pointer with seven seconds left, lifting the Defiance College men's basketball team to a thrilling 79-78 road win over the Concordia University Cardinals on Wednesday night at Cardinal Fieldhouse.

The game was Defiance's exhibition opener of the 2019-20 season while Concordia, an NAIA Division II member, dropped to 2-1 after scoring 100 points in each of its first two contests.

Trailing 77-68 with less than 40 seconds remaining, the Yellow Jackets closed the game with an 11-1 run as the Cardinals missed 4-of-5 free throws down the stretch.

After four early lead changes at the start of the contest, CU led by 12 points twice (23-11 and 25-13) midway through the opening half. DC trimmed the deficit to 41-38 at halftime and took its biggest lead of the night at 49-46 with 15:35 to go. The game remained close until the hosts established their nine-point advantage in the final minute.

Defiance made 12-of-30 (40.0 percent) of its three-point field goal attempts while Concordia was 7-of-26 (26.9). The Yellow Jackets totaled 23 assists to the Cardinals' 13 and ended with a slight 43-42 rebounding edge. At the free throw line, both teams shot 50 percent, but DC had just two attempts, compared to 18 for CU. Defiance also got 25 points off the bench and committed 12 turnovers, including only two in the first 20 minutes.

Andrew finished with 18 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals for the winners while Marell Jordan (Lafayette, Ind./Jefferson) came off the bench to contribute 15 points and six boards. Jack Kolar (Cincinnati, Ohio/Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy) tossed in 12 points while Sean Tyson (Columbus, Ohio/Centennial) scored 11 and dished out a game-high 10 assists. Micaiah Cox (Fort Recovery, Ohio/Fort Recovery) also tallied 11 points with David Perkins (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) collecting eight and a game-best 11 rebounds in a reserve role.

The Yellow Jackets play their second and final exhibition game against NCAA Division I Ball State University next Tuesday in Muncie, Indiana. The contest is the Cardinals' regular season opener and tips off at 7 p.m. inside Worthen Arena.