Men's Basketball holds off Kent St. Tuscarawas

The Defiance men's basketball team defeated Kent St. Tuscarawas 70-67 on Friday afternoon to end the 2021 calendar year with a non-conference victory. 

The Basics

• Records: Defiance (5-4) Kent St. Tuscarawas (7-4)
• Location: Karl H. Weaner Center - Defiance, Ohio.
• Attendance: 250

Inside The Numbers

• Senior Marell Jordan led the Yellow Jackets with 16 points, eight points and tied junior Jabryis Heidelburg for the team lead in assists with four.
• Sophomore Dejsani Beamon added 15 points and grabbed a season-high six rebounds. 
• Senior Tyler Andrew returned to the Yellow Jacket lineup and chipped in 10 points and six rebounds off the bench.
• Freshman Landen Swanner went 3-of-4 from three-point range for nine points.
• As a team, the Yellow Jackets went 26-of-62 (.419) from the field and shot 8-of-21 (.381) from behind the arc.
• DeJuan Lawrence recorded a double-double for the Golden Eagles with 19 points and 12 rebounds while also adding three blocks.
• Braden Rostad added 10 points while Arthur Jackson and Kyle Shockley each reached double digits off the bench with 10 and 12 points respectively. 
• As a team, the Golden Eagles shot 27-of-59 (.458) from the floor and went 3-of-12 (.250) from downtown.

The Difference

• The Yellow Jackets opened the game with a 7-0 run before the visitors scored five straight points to cut the lead down to two.
• Defiance responded with a 6-0 run that was then immediately answered by Kent St. with an 11-0 run to take their first lead of the game. 
• From that point on the teams continued to exchange buckets and the Yellow Jackets went into halftime with a 35-33 lead.
• After spending most of the second half trailing, Defiance reclaimed the lead with just over five minutes left in regulation and held on through strong defensive play and clutch shooting to escape with the 70-67 victory.
• Defiance had strong second halves from Jordan who recorded 11 of his 15 points and five of his eight rebounds in the half and Swanner who scored all nine of his points in the period.
• Four Yellow Jackets had two steals including Jordan, Andrews, sophomore Andre Edwards, and junior Avonte Jones.

Up Next

• Defiance will return to action tomorrow afternoon when they take on HCAC foe Mount St. Joseph at the Karl H. Weaner Center for a New Year's Day matchup. Tip-off is set for 3:00 p.m.