Positive start fizzles fast, Jackets lose sixth straight at Hanover

HANOVER, Ind. – The Defiance Yellow Jackets held the upper hand early before the Hanover Panthers gained their footing and defended their home floor with a 95-52 decision on Saturday at Collier Arena.

The Yellow Jackets suffered their sixth straight defeat to fall to 1-7 and an 0-3 start to HCAC action. The Panthers picked up their second straight win to start conference play and are now 5-3 overall. Hanover's 95 points were one point shy of their season-high of 96 while DC's 52 points were the fewest in a game this season. The 43-point margin was also Defiance's most lopsided loss of the season.

TURNING POINT

Following a media timeout at 13:51, Hanover's Ty Houston hit a layup to tie the score at 10-10. Defiance had two scoreless possessions over the next minute until Hanover's Brice Gilman drew a foul on a 3-point try from atop the arc. Gilman hit all three shots at the free throw line to award the Panthers with the lead. The big momentum shift continued after the 11:59 media timeout when Hanover's reigning All-HCAC forward Max Greenamoyer canned back-to-back 3-pointers, the team's only makes from long range during the first half, to take a 19-10 lead near the halfway point of the opening half.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Yellow Jackets started strong by scoring seven of the game's first nine points thanks to a 3-for-5 shooting. Fueld on buckets in the paint by Evan Park and Cole Wojciechowski combined with triples made by Devin Goodwyn and Park, Defiance led 10-8 through the first media timeout to carry the team's second lead through the first five minutes of any contest this year.

Hanover countered with a 13-0 run while Defiance was held to zero shot attempts due to five turnovers in a span of 3:21. Clay McCorkle's jumper at the 10:01 mark got Defiance back on track, starting an 11-4 spurt that the team shot 5-for-6 from the field over that span. Freshman wing Landon Wells brought a big boost off the bench hitting a mid-range jumper shortly after checking in at the 9:44 point of the first half. On Defiance's next possession, Wells canned another bucket and converted an open 3-pointer with 6:10 remaining in the half to pull the Jackets within four points of the lead.

However, Wells' last of seven first-half points was the last Defiance field goal of the half. DC went 0-for-6 from the field and received one free throw from Jordyn Jury before halftime. Hanover's offense hummed on a 20-1 finish to the half with six at the free throw line and the rest in the paint. The Panthers flipped Defiance's 12 turnovers into 20 points during the first half and led 45-22.

The second half saw Hanover continue to bury DC, outscoring the Jackets 50-30 over the second 20 minutes. After hitting on 50 percent of their first half shots, the Panthers had a tremendous second half shooting the ball at a 59 percent clip (19-for-32). Among 19 Hanover makes in the second were five 3-pointers. On the flip side, Defiance improved to shoot 44 percent from the field after halftime. 

For the game, Hanover scored 54 of their 95 in the paint, 34 off turnovers, 13 on fast breaks and 12 second chance points thanks to 15 offensive rebounds.

BRINGING THE STING

• The Yellow Jackets rolled out the team's third different starting lineup with Devin Goodwyn getting his first-career starting nod in favor of Jakob Trevino at point guard. Trevino did not play in Saturday's contest.
• DC's 22 points in the first half were the team's fewest points scored in any half of basketball this season.
• No Yellow Jackets reached double figures in scoring, the first time this season that has occurred. The top scorer for the afternoon was eight points by sophomore Jordyn Jury, a new career best for the Hopewell-Loudon grad.
• Evan Park, Cole Wojciechowski and Landon Wells all scored seven points for the Yellow Jackets.
• In outside shooting, the Jackets were just 4-for-20 for the lowest percentage on the year.
• Defiance was forced into 20 turnovers, the second game this season with at least 20 turnovers.
• Hanover shot 18-for-20 at the free throw line compared to 6-for-11 by DC. Defiance has allowed more free throw makes than total team attempts in five straight games.

UP NEXT

The Yellow Jackets have another six-day rest period before their next contest and will have a two-week layoff from conference play. Next Saturday, Defiance travels to Alma for a 3 p.m. tipoff against the Scots. The matchup will be Defiance's final regular season non-conference game of the 2023-24 season before a pair of D-I exhibition games before Christmas.

-JACKETS-