Edwards Scores Career-High in Win Against Franklin (Ind.)

DEFIANCE, OHIO  --  Senior forward Bernard Edwards (Detroit, Mich./Warren Cousino) scored a career-high 34 points to help lead the Defiance College men's basketball team to a 101-91 victory against Franklin (Ind.) College in a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference game at the Karl H. Weaner Center.

Edwards scored his 34 points on eight-of-19 shooting (42.1 percent), including shooting 16-of-17 (94.1 percent) from the free-throw line.  He also grabbed seven rebounds.  Two other players scored 20 or more points and combined with Edwards, the trio accounted for 77 of the team's 101 total points.  Senior guard Travis Schomaeker (Ottawa/Ottawa-Glandorf) scored 23 points and fellow senior Mason Roth (McComb) added 20 points, with 12 points coming at the charity stripe.  In addition, senior forwrad Kent Tietje (Hamler/Patrick Henry) grabbed a game-high eight rebounds.  DC shot 51.7 percent (31-of-60) as a team and got to the free-throw line 38 times and made good on 32 of its attempts (84.2 percent).

Both teams played a tight first half with 10 lead changes and 10 ties.  Neither team led by more than five points with Franklin (3-12, 2-6 HCAC) leading by as many as four points on numerous occasions including a 38-34 advantage late in the period at the 2:51 minute mark.  Defiance (11-4, 6-2 HCAC) then went on a 9-0 scoring run that ended in a pair of free-throws by Edwards to put the Yellow Jackets up by five points, 43-28, with just over a minute remaining.  The Grizzlies tallied the final points of the half on a jumper and narrowed the gap to 43-40 at the break.

Franklin began the second half with a vengence scoring points on its first seven possessions.  The run allowed the Grizzlies to take the lead and go up by three points, 55-52, with 17:02 to go in the game.  DC evened the score at 55-55 on its ensuing possession thanks to a triple by Schomaeker, but Franklin responded with a 7-0 run to regain the lead, this time by a score of 62-55 at the 15:18 mark.  The Jackets answered with a run of their own, scoring 18 straight points to take a commanding 73-62 lead with 10:35 remaining.  DC connected on four three-pointers during the run with a pair from freshman forward Michael Kaminski (Medina) and two from Edwards.  Defiance went on to lead by as many as 13 points, 84-71, thanks to a 7-0 run that was sparked by a jumper by Tietje.  Franklin would make one final run late in the half and cut the deficit to five points, 96-91, with 48 seconds to go.  The Yellow Jackets sealed the game with five-of-six free-throws to claim the 101-91 win.

Franklin ended the game shooting 46.4 percent (32-of-69) from the field and saw its share of free-throw attempts with 24 and went 20-of-24 overall (83.3 percent).  The Grizzlies had five players score in double figures led by Aaron mann with 21 points.  Trae Washington was second with 15 points and the trio of Robbie Prather, Brandon Scruggs and Jim Mace each added 11 points.

Defiance will host Earlham (Ind.) College in a HCAC game on Wednesday, Jan. 21 at the Weaner Center.  The game is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.