Hicks' 39 points leads DC past MSJ 72-64 to improve to 6-0

CINCINNATI, Ohio - The Yellow Jackets Men's Basketball team remained undefeated this season as senior Ryan Hicks scored 39 points to lead Defiance (6-0, 2-0 HCAC) past Mount St. Joseph Saturday afternoon 72-64.

Hicks scored a career high with his 39 points in the game, including 13 points over the final seven minutes to help the Yellow Jackets pull away for the victory. The offensive output for Hicks was the most by a Yellow Jacket since Logan Wolfrum had 40 last January against Manchester.

With eight minutes left in the game, Kyle Brumett called a timeout as the Lions (4-3, 1-1 HCAC) took a one-point lead with a three pointer. The Yellow Jackets responded by outscoring MSJ 22-12 over the final minutes. 

Bernard Edwards, who finished with 19 points in the contest, hit a layup coming out of the timeout to give Defiance a lead back that it never relinquished. Edwards scored four more and Jordan Fair added two points to go along with Hicks' 13 in the final minutes to pull away by as much as 11 in the 9-point victory.

With the win, the Yellow Jackets picked up their fifth-straight win over Mount St. Joseph and improved to 18-11 all-time against the Lions, including a 10-1 record under Kyle Brumett.

Saturday's game was the first time the Yellow Jackets made under five three pointers in a game this season, going 2-for-10 from behind the arch, but Defiance shot better than 50 percent from the floor for the third time this season, shooting a season high 59.5 percent (25-for-42) from the floor. The Yellow Jackets also held an opponent under 50 percent shooting for the fourth time this season with MSJ going 19-for-46 (41.3 pct.).

Wade Wooley led the Yellow Jackets in rebounds in the game, picking up seven of DC's 32 boards in the contest. The Yellow Jackets have not lost the rebound battle this season as Mount St. Joseph only had 25 in the game.

Wooley also matched a career-high in the game with eight points. The sophomore also finished with a block.

Defiance started off the game with a 12-4 run over the Lions in the first four minutes and the Purple and Gold held that lead for much of the first half. Hicks finished the first 20 minutes with 17 points. Edwards also had eight.

Coming out of the break, Defiance fell behind for the first time in the game, but trailed for less than a minute as Hicks made his first two points of 22 in the second 20 minutes. The Yellow Jackets pulled back ahead by as much as seven before MSJ tied the game and took the lead, leading up to Brumett's time out.

The Yellow Jackets will now have a week off before they host Transylvania University in the final conference test of the 2013 calender year. DC will play host to the Pioneers in a double header next Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. with the women and the men scheduled for a 3 p.m. start in the Weaner Center.