DC Punches Postseason Ticket with Brumett’s 100th Win

DEFIANCE, Ohio – DC's honored its five-man senior class prior to the start of Saturday's must-win game against Franklin and then completed its late-season charge into the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament with a sixth-straight win, topping the Grizzlies by a 70-68 margin.

The victory was the 100th in the six-year head coaching career for Kyle Brumett and completed a comeback for the Jackets that saw DC overcome a four-game deficit in the standings to Franklin with six dates remaining on schedule. Defiance won each of the final six contests to leap past Franklin and Manchester and into the HCAC Tournament for the third time in four years.

It would not be easy, as Franklin jumped to a 10-5 start and withstood an ensuing 11-5 spurt from Defiance to eventually build a 31-22 lead with 5:23 left in the first half. The Jackets scored the next 10 points to reclaim a one-point edge and ended the half on a 16-5 rally that sent DC to the break with a 38-36 advantage.

Defiance opened the second with a jumper from Ryan Hicks and a trifecta from Anthony Brown to widen the gap to 43-36 and pushed the spread to 52-44 with 13:35 to play. The eight-point lead would be DC's largest of the afternoon and faded steadily, as Franklin battled back in front by a 63-62 score.

Logan Wolfrum put the Jackets back up to stay with a three-point play and another triple from Brown made it 68-63 in favor of the Purple and Gold with 4:40 to go. DC scored just two more points the rest of the way, getting a pair of free throws from Kyle Tietje at the 1:09 mark and held on for the 70-68 triumph.

Brown led Defiance for the second-straight game, netting 18 points on six-of-eight shooting in 21 minutes, while Wolfrum ended with 17 points and three assists. Mason Roth also reached double-digits with 11 points, while Hicks added eight points and Tietje chipped in eight points, five rebounds, two blocks and one steal.

Defiance (13-12, 9-9 HCAC) will now prepare for a run at its 27th conference championship, with the HCAC Tournament starting on Friday, February 24 on the campus of Transylvania in Lexington, Ky.

The Jackets will open the tournament against the third-seeded Rose-Hulman Engineers (17-8, 11-7 HCAC) on Friday at 6:00 pm. DC split the season series with R-H, with each team winning on the road.