DC Closes Regular Season with 92-89 Win at Franklin

FRANKLIN, Ind. – Just three days after having its own chance at the HCAC regular season championship taken away with a loss, Defiance ruined Franklin's hopes of an outright title by handing the Grizzlies a 92-89 defeat.

The Jackets entered play on Saturday having already been locked into the third seed in the upcoming Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament, while Franklin was playing for the outright title and the opportunity to host the final two rounds of the tourney.

DC's powerful post duo of Anthony Pettaway and Nick Sales made sure that would not happen, as they combined for 52 points in the paint, 25 rebounds, four blocks and four assists, while helping the Jackets post a dominating, 44-25, edge on the glass.

Defiance fed off the strong play of its big men and connected on a sizzling 59.6 percent of its shots from the field. DC also rediscovered its shooting touch from the three-point and free throw lines, after struggling from each in Wednesday's loss. On Saturday, the Purple and Gold sank five-of-nine attempts from long range and went 19-of-26 from the charity stripe.

The accurate shooting and impact performances of Pettaway and Sales proved too much for Franklin to handle and the Jackets led through the majority of the game, with the Grizzlies posting a late flurry to narrow the final margin.

DC raced to a 25-13 advantage midway through the opening half and readily pushed the lead back into double figures over the course of the remaining 30 minutes of play. The gap opened into double figures again at 37-27, 50-40 and finally at 85-74 with just over two minutes left in the game.

Jeff Gasser then ignited the final and furious comeback bid by the home team, as the reserve hit a pair of trifectas and scored eight of the next 10 points for FC to trim the Defiance cushion to just 88-84 with 1:16 remaining.

A Mike Floyd free throw extended the gap to five, before Will Conoley brought Franklin within three points with less than one minute to play. The Grizzlies then got the ball back with a chance to tie the game, but Sales blocked John Yochum's three-point attempt and then hit a clutch free throw on the other end to give the Jackets a two-possession lead once again.

A pair of freebies from Heath Armstrong lifted DC to a 92-86 lead with five seconds remaining, before Gasser dropped in another trey at the horn that trimmed the final margin to the three-point spread.

Pettaway led all scorers with a career-high 30 points and added seven boards, three assists and three blocks. With the 30-point outburst, the senior center passed Ray Etzler (1959-63) and Richard Otte (1966-71) on the all-time scoring charts at Defiance and now ranks 13th in school history with 1,431 career points.

Pettaway's counterpart in the paint, Sales, went for 22 points, 18 rebounds, one assist and the potential game-saving block. The performance was the fourth double-double for Sales in his last five contests, while his 18 caroms marked a new career best for the junior forward.

With their big games, Pettaway and Sales also each surpassed the 400-point plateau for the year, marking the second-straight season that Defiance has seen a pair of players top 400 points.

Defiance finishes the regular season with a 17-8 overall mark and ends third in the HCAC at 12-4. The Jackets narrowly missed claiming their 26th conference title in program history, closing the regular season just one game back of Transylvania and Franklin in the league standings.

The Jackets will now host the sixth-seeded Hanover Panthers (9-15, 6-10 HCAC) on Tuesday at 7:30 pm. The winner of that HCAC Quarterfinal matchup will then head south to play Franklin on Friday night in Lexington, Ky., on the campus of Transylvania.

DC swept the regular season series with Hanover for the third-straight year, cruising to a 103-78 win on the Panthers' home court on December 6, before grinding out a 50-47 win inside the Karl H. Weaner Community Center on January 24.