Men's Hoops Can't Overcome Hot First Half Shooting By MSJ

CINCINNATI, OHIO  --  Mount St. Joseph University shot nearly 70 percent from the floor in the first half which led to a 22-point margin at halftime as the Defiance College men's basketball team fell to the Lions, 68-61, in a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference game in Cincinnati.

Senior guard Mason Roth (McComb) scored a game-high 24 points on eight-of-16 shooting (50.0 percent) to go along with seven rebounds.  Fellow senior guard Travis Schomaeker (Ottawa/Ottawa-Glandorf) was second with 17 points and senior forward Bernard Edwards (Detroit, Mich./Warren Cousino) rounded out the high scorers with 13 points.  Junior forward Wade Wooley (Wauseon) led the Yellow Jackets in rebounding with a game-tying high 10 boards.

Mount St. Josesph (16-5, 11-3 HCAC) made 18 of its 26 shots in the first 20 minutes, including shooting seven-of-10 (70.0 percent) from three-point range.  Defiance (15-6, 10-4 HCAC) was held to 34.5 percent shooting (10-of-29) in the period and just four-of-11 from both three-point range and at the free-throw line.  The Lions took control right from the start by outscoring the Yellow Jackets, 14-4, in the first 4:40.  MSJ later blew the game open with a 7-0 scoring run to extend the margin to 21 points, 32-11, with just over 10 minutes to go in the half.  DC would have to try and play "catch-up" the rest of the way, but the impressive shooting by the Lions continued which resulted in a 50-28 deficit at the break.

The high scoring offense for MSJ changed dramatically in the second half as the Lions were held to just 18 points while shooting just 28.0 percent (seven-of-25) from the field and failed to convert on any of their eight three-point attempts.  DC worked its way back into the game and narrowed the gap to 13 points, 54-41, following a triple by Schomaeker at the 11:21 mark.  The Jackets continued to chip away at the Lion lead and found themselves down by just five points, 64-59, with 2:06 left to play thanks to layup by Schomaeker.  MSJ added a pair of free-throws with 35 seconds remaining to extend the margin to seven points, 66-59, before Roth answered on DC's ensuing possession with a layup of his own to pull Defiance to within five points again, 66-61, with 30 seconds to go.  But time was not on the Jackets' side as two more Lion free-throws and a pair of missed three-point attempts by DC to end the game, sealed the 68-61 victory for MSJ and control in the HCAC standings.

Despite the cold shooting in the second half, MSJ went on to finish the game converting 49.0 percent (25-of-51) of its field goal attempts and 38.9 percent (seven-of-18) of its three-point shots.  The Lions were led in scoring by Joel Scudder with 20 points.  Bobby Murdock was second with 14 points and Ken Kunkel added 12 points.  Femi Thompson recorded a double-double scoring 10 points in addition to grabbing 10 rebounds.

Defiance will next travel to Richmond, Ind. for a conference game against Earlham College on Wednesday, Feb. 11.  The game is slated to begin at 7:30 p.m.