Men’s basketball ends home slate with conference loss

DEFIANCE, Ohio – In its final regular-season home game of the 2019-20 season on Saturday afternoon, the Defiance College men's basketball team lost, 88-80, to the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Fightin' Engineers in a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference matchup inside the Karl H. Weaner Community Center.

With the loss, Defiance is 11-12 overall, including 6-10 in the HCAC (tied for seventh place). Rose-Hulman improves to 12-11 overall and 9-7 in conference contests (fifth). Earlier this season, way back on Dec. 7 in Terre Haute, Indiana, the Yellow Jackets recorded an 83-73 win over the Fightin' Engineers.

DC got out to a great start, building an early 15-7 advantage, but RHIT took the lead for good at 25-24. The guests led by eight points, 47-39, at the intermission and the closest Defiance could get in the second half was 49-44 with 16 minutes to go. Rose-Hulman's biggest lead, 80-68, came with just over two minutes remaining before the Yellow Jackets closed to within six points twice in the final minute.

From the field, DC shot 41.1 percent (30 of 73), including 25.6 (10 of 39) from three-point territory, compared to 46.7 (28 of 60) and 36.4 (8 of 22), respectively, for the Engineers. At the foul line, RHIT was 24 of 35 (68.8 percent) and Defiance 10 of 12 (83.3). Rose-Hulman, which outrebounded the hosts by a 47-32 margin, had seven turnovers while the Yellow Jackets committed a season-low five.

Marell Jordan (Lafayette, Ind./Jefferson) led all scorers with a season-high 27 points and hauled down 10 rebounds for DC while freshman Jack Kolar (Cincinnati, Ohio/Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy) scored 14 points. Sean Tyson (Columbus, Ohio/Centennial) came up with 12 points, a game-best five assists and five boards.

Defiance is on the road in Bluffton, Ohio, to play rival Bluffton University in an HCAC contest on Wednesday at 8 p.m. The game comes after 6 p.m. women's matchup between the Jackets and Bluffton.