DC Men Top Earlham for Third-Straight Win

RICHMOND, Ind. – Defiance College picked up its first road victory of the year with a 68-57 triumph at Earlham on Wednesday. The Jackets controlled their first-ever conference meeting with the Quakers, maintaining a double-digit lead over the final 23:25 of action.

The win marked DC's third in a row and the sixth in its last seven contests, while pushing the Jackets' streak to three-straight games without facing a deficit. Defiance has been surging on the strength of an improved defense, which held Earlham to 57 points on 40.0-percent shooting and has now limited the opposition to 69.1 points per game on 39.1-percent shooting from the floor over its last seven outings.

Defiance dominated the paint to the tune of a 34-12 scoring advantage in the key, while piling up 22 points off of 19 Quaker turnovers and tying a season high with 10 steals. All 15 Yellow Jackets saw time in the game, with 11 different players scoring to help DC post a 20-7 edge in points off the bench.

The Jackets wasted no time taking control of the game, as a Ryan Hicks jumper was sandwiched by triples from Logan Wolfrum and Leroy Lewis to follow three-straight layups to start the night. The six-for-six showing out of the gates opened up a 14-4 lead just under four minutes into the game and Earlham would never get any closer than six points the rest of the way.

After EC (2-12, 0-7 HCAC) climbed to within 22-16, Defiance used a 14-5 spurt to open up a 15-point cushion on the way to a 38-25 halftime lead. DC's margin would never dip into single-digits during the second half, climbing to as many as 18 before Defiance finished off the 68-57 win.

Wolfrum led the balanced effort for DC, scoring 18 points as the only player to reach double figures for the Purple and Gold. Anthony Brown and Hicks followed up with nine each, Lewis added eight points, three assists and two steals, while Kyle Tietje chipped in seven points.

Defiance (9-5, 4-3 HCAC) will face another road challenge on Saturday, as it heads to Franklin (4-10, 2-5 HCAC) for a 4:00 pm tip. Fans not able to make the trip can catch the game on the Yellow Jacket Sports Network by going to www.DefianceAthletics.com/video.