Jackets Fall in HCAC Semifinal Clash with No. 23 Rose-Hulman

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Logan Wolfrum reached 1,800 points for his career and led Defiance in scoring for the 52nd time with his 37th output of 20-or-more points, but 23 points from DC's all-time leading scorer at the NCAA Division III level was not enough to get the Jackets past No. 23 Rose-Hulman in an 81-59 loss at the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Semifinals.

Wolfrum's 23 points capped a record-setting career for the Ayersville High product, who finished his four years with the Purple and Gold with 1,813 points to join Dennis Bostelman (1984-1988) as the only members of DC's 1,800-point club.

Unfortunately for Defiance, that would be the lone bright spot on Friday, as the Jackets connected on only one-of-nine attempts to open the game and never fully recovered from the sluggish start.

The top-seeded Engineers capitalized on the poor shooting by racing to a 17-3 lead and withstood a short DC rally that trimmed the margin to five points at 24-19 and again at 27-22. R-H would score the next six points to push the spread back into double figures and built a 39-25 lead by the end of the opening half.

Six-straight points from Rose-Hulman to start the second half broke open a 21-point cushion and the Jackets could never draw closer than 15 points throughout the remainder of the contest.

The biggest moment of the final 20 minutes came at the 11:26 mark, when Wolfrum sank a free throw for his 1,800th career point. It would not spark a comeback however, as Defiance ultimately saw its season come to an end with an 81-59 loss.

Wolfrum's 23 points were followed in the scoring column by 10 from Travis Schomaeker, nine from Ryan Hicks and eight from Mason Roth.

Defiance shot 54.3 percent after falling into the 17-3 deficit and buried nine makes from beyond the arc, but coughed up 13 turnovers that led to a 16-3 edge for R-H in points off of miscues.

The Engineers (23-3) dominated the action on the interior, outscoring DC by a 46-16 margin in the paint and winning the battle on the glass by a 34-25 count.

Defiance ends the 2012-2013 campaign with an overall clip of 16-11 for its highest win total since logging 23 victories during the championship season of 2009-2010. DC has now gone seven-straight seasons without a losing record and will look to continue that streak by returning all but two players from the second-youngest squad in the HCAC this season.

Wolfrum highlights the short list of departing players, as the HCAC Player-of-the-Year candidate and Marcus Dunlap are the lone two seniors on the 2012-2013 season for Defiance.