Sales Leads Jackets Past Bluffton on Senior Night

DEFIANCE, Ohio – Nick Sales turned in a vintage effort in Wednesday's Senior Night victory over rival Bluffton University, as the senior forward logged his 25th collegiate double-double to lead Defiance to the 70-60 win, while improving the Yellow Jackets to 123-61 all-time against the Beavers on the planks.

Bluffton came out on fire, connecting on five of its first seven attempts from the floor to grab an early 14-9 advantage. Nick Lee had the hot hand for the Beavers, sinking a pair of three-point shots to fuel the early BU push.

The Jackets would answer back with a trifecta from Logan Wolfum and a jumper from Anthony Brown to draw even at 14-14, before a hoop from Sales was followed by a triple from Eric Stolly that capped a 10-4 rally and lifted Defiance to the 19-18 lead with 9:20 left in the opening half.

A Brent Farley free throw would tie the score at 19-19, but Sales put DC back in front with five-straight points. The Jackets eventually extended that cushion to a six-point spread at 37-31 with seven seconds to go in the period, before Bluffton's Mychal Hill sank a jumper at the horn to send DC to the break with a 37-33 lead.

Both teams shot over 50 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes of action, but Defiance doubled up Bluffton, 20-10, in the paint and held an 18-12 edge on the glass. Sales and Wolfrum combined for 26 points off the bench, as DC got 30 of its 37 points in the opening stanza from its reserves.

The Beavers would continue to linger throughout the first several minutes of the second stanza and knotted the score at 46-46 with 12:51 left in the game, before DC's seniors took over the game.

Stolly's second trey of the night put DC back up by three and a pair of free throws from Sales would widen the margin to 51-46, before another three-point play from Sales pushed Defiance to the 54-48 cushion with 9:22 showing on the clock. Floyd then began to assert himself, as the floor general drove into the paint for three-straight buckets that put DC up by eight with just under seven minutes to play.

Defiance would never allow Bluffton to get any closer than six points the rest of the way and eventually pushed the lead into double figures in the closing moments of the 70-60 victory.

Sales was the difference, as he tied a season-high with 25 points and added 11 rebounds, three steals, three assists and two blocks. Sales now sits just 12 points shy of 1,300 for his career and needs only 10 rebounds to become the fifth player in DC history with at least 1,200 points and 800 rebounds in a career.

Wolfrum and Floyd also cracked double figures in the scoring column, combining for 25 points and six assists, while Stolly and Brandon Campbell each tacked on six points.

The game marked the final regular season home contest for DC's six-man senior class, as Sales, Floyd, Stolly, Nate Conley, Josh Stuckey and Heath Armstrong improved to 73-31 during their four years at Defiance.

DC (19-5, 10-5 HCAC) also clinched the No. 3 or No. 4 seed in the upcoming Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament with the win on Wednesday and will host Manchester or Franklin on Tuesday, February 23 in the HCAC Quarterfinals.

The Jackets can seal the No. 3 seed and a date with No. 6 Franklin, if Transylvania loses at home to Manchester on Saturday. A Transylvania victory would pencil Defiance into the No. 4 seed and set up a home date with Manchester in Tuesday's opening round.