Jackets Drop Shootout to No. 21 UW-Whitewater

WHEATON, Ill. – Defiance College and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater hooked up for a classic on the hardwood for the second time in the last three games for the Jackets, dating back to the opening round of the NCAA D-III National Tournament in March. DC pushed the Warhawks to the brink once again, before falling 95-91.

Both teams had the offenses clicking from the opening tip, as the squads combined to shoot 60.9 percent from the floor and sank 18-of-24 attempts from beyond the arc for a blistering 75 percent.

Defiance did much of its damage from long distance, sinking 11-of-13 shots from three-point territory in the opening half. The hot shooting was countered by a prolific scoring performance from UWW's transfer forward Chris Davis, who netted 25 points in the first stanza.

The scoring slowed after the break, as the Jackets cooled to just one-of-nine from deep and connected on only 35.1 percent from the field. Whitewater managed only 11 field goals in the second half but bolstered the offense with a 15-of-20 showing from the charity stripe.

Despite the shooting slump, Defiance still matched its largest lead of the game on a jumper from Kyle Tietje that opened up a 73-68 lead with 16:12 left on the clock. After UWW climbed back in front, Logan Wolfrum scored five-straight points for the Jackets to force the 11th tie of the game at 80-80 with 6:49 to play.

Whitewater (1-0) would answer with a quick 9-1 spurt to grab the 89-81 spread, before the Jackets battled back with three-straight buckets to narrow the gap back to 89-87 at the two-minute market. After a free throw pushed the gap to three, a potential game-tying trey from Anthony Brown went long and the Warhawks hauled in the carom and converted a fast-break layup on the other end to take a 92-87 lead with 47 seconds remaining.

The Jackets had one final gasp, as Brandon Campbell followed a Wolfrum deuce with a steal and a pair of free throws to make it a 94-91 contest with 18 seconds on the clock, but DC would get no closer in the 95-91 defeat.

Wolfrum and Brown each turned in the best scoring efforts of their careers to pace the attack, as Wolfrum led all players with 29 points and nine assists and Brown poured in 27 and added a pair of steals. Kyle Tietje added 15 points and seven rebounds before fouling out and Campbell chipped in eight points, four boards and two thefts.

Defiance (1-1) will play the loser of the Wheaton and Covenant game on Saturday at 6:30 pm in the consolation game of the Wheaton College Lee Pfund Classic.