Jackets Bounce Back with 61-57 Win at Rose-Hulman

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Defiance College showcased a new-look rotation and Nick Sales paced the squad with a second-straight 20-point outburst to help the Jackets pick up a 61-57 victory at Rose-Hulman on Saturday afternoon. The win moved Defiance into a three-way tie for third place in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference standings.

The four-point road win allowed DC to stay just one game back of Transylvania for second place in the league standings, as the Pioneers narrowly escaped Bluffton with a 69-66 win to keep their hold on the second spot. The Jackets are currently in a three-way gridlock for third with Hanover and Manchester.

It looked like Defiance might lose ground in those races in the opening minutes of Saturday's game at Rose-Hulman, as the Jackets got off to another sluggish start and found themselves in a 17-9 hole with just over six minutes remaining in the opening half.

The experienced Defiance lineup finally got things going however, using a 12-0 spurt to take a 21-17 lead. Three seniors spurred the rally, with Sales netting six points during that stretch and Heath Armstrong and Eric Stolly each knocking in key shots from long distance.

With the offense finally on track, the Jackets extended a 23-21 halftime lead to 37-25 with a quick 14-2 streak to answer a Rose-Hulman hoop at the start of the second period. Sales was right in the middle once again, turning in a pair of three-point plays, which were sandwiched by five points from Brandon Campbell. DC would tack on three free throws in its next two possessions to push the gap to 12 with 16:13 left in the contest.

The host Engineers withstood the collective 28-8 Defiance surge however, and fired back with a 15-6 stretch that cut the Jacket lead to three points. Yet another senior stepped up for DC, as Mike Floyd sank a three to stop the rally and push the spread back to six points.

Defiance's advantage would shift between four and eight points for the rest of the way, until one final charge from Rose-Hulman brought the Engineers to within a single point. The 5-0 burst cut DC's cushion to 58-57 with only 46 seconds left.

Floyd once again provided the answer, as the senior guard used the majority of the shot clock before getting fouled and sinking two crucial attempts from the charity stripe to make it 60-57 with 15 ticks remaining.

Rose-Hulman (6-12, 2-7 HCAC) attempted to tie the game with a three but Sales pulled down the rebound with one second to play and hit a free throw at the other end to ice the game and send Defiance home with an important, 61-57, triumph.

The Jackets struggled with 20 turnovers and a 39.6-percent clip from the floor but sank 19 of 23 free throws as a team, and leaned on another all-around showing from Sales. The senior forward ended with 20 points, five rebounds, five steals and two blocks.

Floyd also filled the stat sheet with seven points, five helpers and four boards and Campbell had nine points and seven caroms. Justin Morris provided a major lift off the bench, as the sophomore center chipped in six points and five rebounds in a career-high 19 minutes of action.

DC (14-4, 5-4 HCAC) will get a shot at one of the hottest teams in the nation on Wednesday, as it hosts No. 11 Anderson (17-1, 9-0 HCAC) at 7:30 pm. The Ravens have won a school-record 14 games in a row. That streak started on December 2, when Anderson scored an 88-70 home victory over Defiance.