Turnovers Haunt Jackets in Buzzer-Beater Loss at Transy

LEXINGTON, Ky. – A Kevin Tietje three with 10 seconds left forced the ninth tie of the game but Transylvania's Tim Tierney lifted a floater high off the glass and in with less than one second left to deliver a crushing, 58-56, defeat to Defiance. 

The Yellow Jackets led throughout the majority of the game, including a 34-22 lead with 17:40 to go, but fueled the Pioneer comeback by missing several easy layups and turning the ball over seven times during a 26-11 run from the hosts.

The extended Transylvania rally was capped by a three from Matt Wise that came on the heels of DC's 16th turnover of the night and lifted TU to the 48-45 edge with 6:23 to play. The three-point cushion was Transy's first lead of the second half and its largest of the contest.

With the game on the verge of slipping away, Brandon Campbell provided a spark for the Yellow Jackets. The freshman guard earned a tip-in to narrow the margin to a single point, before picking up a steal and setting up an easy deuce that reclaimed the 49-48 lead for Defiance. Campbell then sank a jumper with 3:01 to play to push DC in front by a 51-49 score.

Defiance would hold that two-point spread and the ball with 1:01 remaining in the game, before throwing away an in-bounds pass and turning the ball over once again on the very next possession. The final two mistakes of the night proved costly, as Transylvania turned them into three free throws and the 54-53 lead with 40 seconds to go.

The Pioneer defense came up with its third-straight stop on the ensuing DC chance, swatting a Nick Sales layup and sinking two more from the stripe to extend the Defiance deficit to 56-53 with 22 ticks on the clock.

That set the stage for the final heroics, as Tietje's trey momentarily bailed out the Jackets before Tierney delivered the knockout blow at the horn to complete the 58-56 victory for the Pioneers (8-5, 4-1 HCAC).

Despite the 18 turnovers and 37.5-percent shooting performance from the floor, Defiance nearly escaped with a key road victory thanks to a strong effort on the glass. DC outscored Transylvania 19-7 in second-chance points after chasing down 17 offensive caroms.

The Jackets also got strong outside shooting from Tietje, Heath Armstrong and Anthony Brown, who combined to sink eight-of-13 from beyond the arc for 30 of DC's 56 points.

A pair of freshmen also played well in the loss, as Campbell ended with eight points, six rebounds and three steals in 23 minutes and Logan Wolfrum pulled down five boards and a steal in his 20 minutes.

Defiance (11-3, 2-3 HCAC) will face yet another tough road challenge on Saturday, when they play at Mount St. Joseph (7-5, 2-2 HCAC) at 3:00 pm.