Jackets Post Key Road Win in Regular Season Finale

FRANKLIN, Ind. – Logan Wolfrum scored 23 of his game-high 27 points in the second half of his final regular season contest, as Defiance took a 72-63 win at Franklin on Saturday to secure the opportunity to host a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Quarterfinal clash with the Grizzlies on Tuesday, February 19 at 7:30 pm inside the Hive.

The Jackets led throughout much of the afternoon but needed a strong closing push from Wolfrum to turn back a second-half charge from Franklin, after FC had used a 14-2 surge to turn an eight-point deficit into a 47-43 lead with 8:55 left in the game.

Wolfrum immediately began chipping away at the largest lead of the day for the host squad and closed the contest with 20 points over the next 8:23 of game action to fuel a 26-12 rally for DC and push the Jackets back in front by a 69-59 margin with less than one minute left on the clock.

Defiance would finish off the key road victory, topping Franklin by a 72-63 margin to complete the regular season sweep of the Grizzlies and claim the No. 4 seed and an opening round home game in the upcoming HCAC Tournament.

Wolfrum bolstered his HCAC Player-of-the-Year candidacy by burying four-of-six shots from the floor and going a perfect 11-of-11 from the free throw line, while pulling down two rebounds and assisting another Defiance bucket during the decisive second-half stretch.

Wolfrum finished the second half with 23 points and six boards and ended with 27 points on seven-of-13 shooting to go with seven boards and a trio of assists in the game.

Ryan Hicks and Mason Roth also cracked double-digits to combine for 30 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field, while Bernard Edwards added seven points and four rebounds.

The Defiance (15-10, 11-7 HCAC) win set up another showdown with Franklin (14-11, 9-9 HCAC) on Tuesday in the first round of the HCAC Tournament. This time the teams will square off inside DC's Karl H. Weaner Community Center at 7:30 pm.

The winner of Tuesday's HCAC Tournament Quarterfinal clash will advance to a semifinal game in Terre Haute, Ind., against the top-seeded and No. 18 Rose-Hulman Engineers at 8:00 pm on Friday, February 22. The HCAC Championship and the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Division III National Tournament will then be decided on Saturday, February 23 at 7:00 pm on the campus of Rose-Hulman.