Yellow Jackets Outlast Panthers For Fourth Straight Victory

DEFIANCE, OHIO  -- The Defiance College men's basketball team posted its fourth straight victory with a 58-51 win against Hanover (Ind.) College in a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference game at the Karl H. Weaner Center.

Senior guard Travis Schomaeker (Ottawa/Ottawa-Glandorf) scored a game-high 18 points while shooting six-of-16 (37.5 percent) from the field, including five buckets from three-point range.  Senior forward Bernard Edwards (Detroit, Mich./Warren Cousino) was second with 16 points and senior guard Mason Roth (McComb) rounded out the high scorers with 10 points in addition to grabbing a game-tying high eight rebounds.

Leading by a basket nearing the midway point of the first half, Defiance (8-3, 3-1 HCAC) went on a 9-0 scoring run that ended in a three-pointer by sophomore guard Michael Parker (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) to gain some breathing room with an 11-point advantage, 22-11.  But DC then went into a 4:54 scoring drought that allowed Hanover (6-5, 3-1 HCAC) to score 11 unanswered points to even the game at 22-22 with 5:48 remaining in the period.  The two teams then traded leads down the stretch, but the Jackets scored the final points of the half on a bucket by freshman forward Michael Kaminski (Medina) and a three-pointer by Schomaeker to give DC the lead, 32-30, at the intermission.

The Panthers opened the second half with a jumper to even the score at 32-32.  DC never surrendered the lead, however, and built a six-point margin, 42-36, with 14:53 to play following another triple by Schomaeker.  Hanover answered with five consecutive points to make it a one-possession game, 42-41, at the 12 minute mark, but that would be as close as the Panthers would get the rest of the way.  The Jackets went on to increase their lead to six points on several occasions and sealed the game with a pair of free-throws by Roth in the final seconds to go on to record the 58-51 final.

Hanover was led in scoring by V.J. Billups with 17 points.  Wes McKinney was the only other Panther in double figures with 11 points to go along with eight boards.

Defiance will look to keep the momentum going when it travels to Anderson, Ind. for a HCAC matchup against Anderson University on Wednesday, Jan. 7.  Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.