DC Men Unable to Overcome Shooting Woes at Hanover

HANOVER, Ind. – The Defiance College men's basketball team suffered its second road loss in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference action in as many tries, shooting just 31.0 percent from the floor in a 79-73 loss at Hanover on Saturday.

The shooting struggles were even worse from beyond the arc, where the Yellow Jackets connected on only three-of-25 attempts from three-point territory for a frustrating 12.0-percent clip.

Despite the poor shooting, Defiance managed to stay close throughout the game thanks to the play of its reserves. DC outscored the Panthers, 45-9, in points off the bench, with Mike Floyd and Brandon Campbell accounting for 25 of those 45 tallies.

Hanover led throughout the majority of the afternoon and never trailed after Mitchell Meyer's bucket with 5:24 left in the first half gave the Panthers a 21-19 advantage, which grew to 29-26 at the half.

The Jackets closed to within one in the opening seconds of the final 20 minutes, as Floyd picked up a steal and Campbell finished the drive with a layup. HC quickly countered however, rattling off a 12-1 run to break away for the 41-29 lead.

Defiance had to scramble to narrow the gap for the rest of the game and strung together an 8-0 spurt to close to within 59-57 with 4:50 remaining. DC would then cut the lead to one point on a Sales score with 1:17 to play and again with 57 seconds left on a Floyd deuce.

Despite the determined comeback, the Jackets could not finish the deal and watched Hanover put away the 79-73 victory.

Sales led the charge for Defiance with 18 points, 11 rebounds and two steals, while Floyd had 14 points, eight assists and four swipes. Campbell also cracked double figures with 11 points, while adding three steals.

Defiance (6-2, 2-2 HCAC) will return home for a non-conference tilt against Madonna on Wednesday at 8:00 pm.