Yellow Jackets cruise to 55-42 victory over rival Bluffton

DEFIANCE, Ohio – The Defiance College Yellow Jackets defeated arch rival Bluffton University Wednesday night in front of a packed house, knocking off the Beavers 55-42 with an all-around effort.

The Yellow Jackets (10-4, 5-2 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference) got the crowd roaring early and 30 points from the scoring duo of Bernard Edwards and Ryan Hicks pushed Defiance past Bluffton (6-8, 2-5 HCAC) for the 127th victory in program history over the rival. The Yellow Jackets lead the series 127-64.

The Yellow Jackets broke a 15-15 tie on Mason Roth's jumper with seven minutes remaining in the first half and Defiance never trailed again. DC used a 7-2 run over the final three minutes to give the Yellow Jackets a 26-20 halftime lead.

Edwards and Hicks each had 10 points in the first half. It marked the ninth time this season that the duo each scored in double figures in the same game.

Roth had four in the first half with Wade Wooley scoring the other two points for DC in the first 20 minutes.

In the second half, the Yellow Jackets used a balanced attack from the starting five to pull away from Bluffton, never allowing the Beavers to get to within one possession.

Travis Schomaeker led the Yellow Jackets with all eight of his points coming in the second half. Schomaeker hit a pair of threes in the game, extending DC's record to 12-2 in Schomaeker's career when the junior connects on at least two from behind the arch.

Edwards had six more in the second half to finish with a team high 16 on the evening.

Wooley added four more in the second half to finish with six points, but the sophomore also pulled down five rebounds in the second half to go with eight in the first 20 minutes, matching a career high 13 rebounds.

Wooley's 13 rebounds helped Defiance dominated Bluffton on the boards in the game, as the Yellow Jackets outrebounded the Beavers 37-23.

Defiance pulled down a season high 15 offensive boards, including three straight before Wooley was finally able to connect on a jumper that sealed the game for DC in the final minutes. The stretch of three consecutive offensive rebounds allowed DC to kill nearly two minutes off the clock late in the game.

The offensive boards assisted DC in 12 second chance points, while Bluffton finished with six.

Roth and Hicks also had four second half points each as Hicks finished with 14 on the night, while Roth netted eight points. Roth led the team with five assists in the game, including four in the first half.

Hicks and Edwards each finished with seven rebounds on the night.

In total, the starting five for Defiance logged 22 minutes together on the floor and combined for 36 points during that stretch. The group held Bluffton to 18 points with that lineup, proving to be one of the big differences in the game.

Defiance held Bluffton's starting lineup to just 16 points in 14 minutes that the lineup was on the floor.

Defiance finished 25-of-54 (.463) on the night shooting, but the defense held Bluffton to just 16-of-44 (.364) shooting. The Yellow Jackets dominated in the paint, scoring 34 points while forcing most of Bluffton's scoring to outside shooting as the Beavers finished with just 18 in the paint.

Both teams struggled a little from behind the line, but DC edged Bluffton, hitting 4-of-13 (.308) attempts while the Beavers were 3-of-13 (.231) from behind the arch.

Defiance struggled from the free-throw line on the night. The Yellow Jackets went to the line only five times in the game and connected on just one of those attempts. Jordan Fair had the only free throw for DC, one of his three points off the bench on the night.

The win concludes the Yellow Jackets three-game homestand, as Defiance finished 2-1 during the stretch in The Hive.

Defiance will hit the road this weekend as the Yellow Jackets travel to Franklin Saturday for a 4 p.m. tip with the Grizzlies (6-8, 3-4 HCAC).