Big Second Half Lifts Men's Hoops Past Earlham (Ind.)

RICHMOND, IND.  --  The Defiance College men's basketball team scored 50 points in the second half to post a 90-68 victory against Earlham (Ind.) College in a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference game in Richmond, Ind.

Senior guard Mason Roth (McComb) continued his hot play with his third straight 20-plus point game with a game-high 22 points on eight-of-15 shooting (53.3 percent).  He also made five three-pointers in seven attempts (71.4 percent) and had four rebounds.  Three other Yellow Jacket players scored in double figures with senior guard Travis Schomaeker (Ottawa/Ottawa-Glandorf) scoring 16 points, senior forward Bernard Edwards (Detroit, Mich./Warren Cousino) scored 14 points and fellow senior forward Kent Tietje (Hamler/Patrick Henry) added 11 points.  As a team, DC shot 51.6 percent (33-of-64) from the field and 80.0 percent (16-of-20) at the foul line.  The Yellow Jackets also out-rebounded the Quakers, 39-25.

Earlham (0-22, 0-15) jumped out to an early five-point advantage, 10-5, at the 15:41 minute mark, when Defiance (16-6, 11-4 HCAC) answered with a 5-0 mini scoring run to even the game at 10-10 following a three-pointer by Roth with 14:46 left in the first half.  The rest of the period became a seesaw battle between the two teams with five lead changes and seven ties.  Trailing by a bucket, 24-22, Defiance looked to gain some breathing room when a layup by Edwards sparked a 7-0 run to put the Jackets up by five points, 29-24, with 4:59 to go.  The Jackets eventually went on to lead by a period-high six points, 32-26, but the Quakers battled back to take a four-point thanks to a 10-0 run making the score, 36-32, with two-and-a-half minutes to play.  DC responded with an ensuing 8-0 run of its own to move back ahead on the scoreboard, but would only have a two-point advantage, 40-38, at the break.

In the second half, Defiance looked to take control, beginning the period with an 8-0 run that ended in another triple by Roth to increase the lead to 10 points, 48-38, at the 17:41 mark.  Earlham narrowed the gap back to single figures with a three-pointer of its own, but the Jackets then began to pull away with a series of runs.  The Jackets took a double-digit lead for good with 11:39 remaining in the game thanks to a three-pointer by sophomore guard Michael Parker (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North).  Defiance maintained its sizeable lead the rest of the way and went on to lead by as many as 22 points with the final score of 90-68.

Earlham had three players score in double figures led by Elijah Wilson-Thomas with 19 points.  The duo of Kamari Hunter and Lajay Kelly rounded out the high scorers with 13 points each.  

Defiance will go for its fifth win in its last six games when the Jackets host Transylvania (Ky.) University on Saturday, Feb. 14 at the Karl H. Weaner Center.  The game will be part of a basketball twinbill with the Defiance women's team and it will also be senior day for both teams.  The women will tip-off against Transylvania at 1 p.m., followed by the men at 3 p.m.