DC Men Fade Late in Loss at No. 9 Wooster

WOOSTER, Ohio – The Defiance College men's basketball team returned to Wooster's Timken Gymnasium for the first time since squaring off against No. 8 UW-Whitewater in the opening round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament, this time suffering a 91-67 loss to eighth-ranked Wooster on Friday night.

The Jackets went toe-to-toe with the 2011 NCAA Division III National Runner-Up Fighting Scots for the first 24:18 of action, battling to within 42-37 of Wooster with 15:42 remaining in the game.

A 29-12 spurt by the Scots over the next 7:40 of action proved to be the difference, opening up a 71-49 gap with 8:02 left on the clock. Defiance countered with 10-straight points to claw back to within 12 points at the 6:05 mark but could get no closer, as Wooster held off any further Yellow Jacket comeback efforts and secured the 24-point victory.

DC started the game strong, using long-distance triples from Logan Wolfrum and Mason Roth to grab a 9-4 lead in the opening 3:03 and then opened up a 22-18 edge on a Kyle Tietje deuce with 7:12 to go in the first half. The Jackets would then get a pair of free throws from Roth to take their final lead of the game at 26-25 with 3:46 showing on the opening stanza clock, before Wooster scored the next eight points and closed on a 10-4 spurt for a 35-30 lead at the break.

The Jackets had no answer for the Wooster interior presence, as the Scots outscored DC, 48-20, in the paint and won the battle on the boards by a hefty, 45-27 margin. Wooster was especially dominant on the offensive glass, where it pulled in 14 caroms and enjoyed a 21-8 cushion in second-chance points.

Wooster also connected on 20-of-32 shots in the second half for a 62.5-percent clip, while Defiance shot only 37.0 percent on 10-of-27 from the floor and missed 10 second-half free throws.

Roth, continued his early success with 14 points, five rebounds and two steals, while fellow rookie, Jeff Hugan, chipped in six points and six boards in 14 minutes of action. Senior Anthony Brown also played well with 12 points on four-of-eight shooting.

Defiance (1-1) will look for a quick rebound, when it takes on Ohio Wesleyan (1-1) on Saturday at 6:00 pm. The Bishops handled Anderson, 79-64, in Friday's early contest of the HCAC/NCAC Classic.