Jackets Drop 56-55 Decision on Last-Second Free Throw

CINCINNATI, Ohio – Defiance led by two with 2:51 left to play, but went scoreless down the stretch, missing its last four shots of the game before Mount St. Joe hit a last-second free throw to steal a 56-55 win. DC (6-10 HCAC) is tied for seventh in the conference with two must-win games remaining in the regular season.   

Neither team was able to find any offensive rhythm in the game, combining for just 111 points to undercut DC's previous season-low aggregate point total set earlier this season in a last-second loss against Bluffton.

The Jackets were in for another last-second heartbreak, as Mount's David Mann scored with one tick on the clock in each half, hitting a three-pointer with less than a second to go before halftime to put MSJ ahead by four at the break, and then hitting the game-winning free throw in the final second of regulation.

Mann's clutch shooting was just enough to sneak by the Yellow Jackets, who took a five-point lead when Leroy Lewis found Kyle Tietje for a dunk with 6:48 left to play. The Lions would score the next six points of the game, before Logan Wolfrum knocked in his only three-pointer of the game at the 2:51 mark to reclaim a two-point lead for the Jackets. The lead slipped away again, however, as Mount scored the game's last three points from the free throw line to hand the Jackets their seventh loss in the last eight games.  

Defiance faces a must-win game on Wednesday at conference rival, Bluffton University (14-9; 7-9 HCAC). Bluffton currently sits one game ahead of the Jackets in the sixth and final conference tournament-qualifying spot. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.