Defiance Downs Franklin (Ind.); Jackets to Host HCAC Tourney

FRANKLIN, IND.  --  Junior forward Wade Wooley (Wauseon) recorded his second career double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds as the Defiance College men's basketball team posted a convincing 89-58 win against Franklin (Ind.) College in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference and regular-season finale in Franklin, Ind.  Also with the win, the Yellow Jackets will be HCAC Regular-Season Co-Champions and earn the top seed in the conference via tiebreaker to host the HCAC Tournament which begins Feb. 27.

Wooley's double-double was his first of the season and included his eighth game of the year with 10 or more rebounds.  Senior forward Bernard Edwards (Detroit, Mich./Warren Cousino) led all scorers in scoring with a game-high 22 points on seven-of-14 shooting (50.0 percent) in addition to grabbing a season-high nine boards.  Senior guard Travis Schomaeker (Ottawa/Ottawa-Glandorf) was second with 17 points in addition to tallying eight assists.  Fellow senior guard Mason Roth (McComb) was third with 16 points and also had a strong game with six helpers.  As a team, Defiance shot 53.2 percent (33-of-62) from the field, including attempting 26 three-pointers with 11 made shots for 42.3 percent.  

Franklin (5-20, 4-14 HCAC) scored the first bucket of the first half, but Defiance (19-6, 14-4 HCAC) then scored 12 unanswered points to take a 12-2 lead and never looked back.  The Yellow Jackets led by 10 or more points for the nearly the entire rest of the period on their way to leading by as many as 23 points, 43-20, following a triple by Roth with 1:15 remaining in the half.  The DC defense held the Grizzlies to 12-of-30 shooting (40.0 percent) in the first 20 minutes, including holding Franklin scoreless from both the three-point and free-throw lines.  Franklin scored the final points of the period on a jumper, but the Jackets still maintained a sizeable 19-point advantage at the break, 43-24.

Defiance continued to pull away in the second half as the Jackets outscored the Grizzlies, 46-34.  Nearing the midway point of the period, Franklin pulled to within 16 points, 56-40, at the 13:02 minute mark, but that would be as close as the Grizzlies would get the rest of the way as DC quickly extended the margin back to over 20 points.  With the outcome already in hand, leading by 29 points, 86-57, with 2:49 left in the game thanks to a layup by Wooley, senior guard Drew Frizell (Smithville) scored the final points for the Jackets with a three-pointer as DC went on to record the 89-58 victory.

Franklin was led in scoring by Aaron Mann with 19 points.  The duo of Matt Niehoff and Jim Mace rounded out the double-figure scorers for the Grizzlies with 10 points each.

DC ends the regular season tied with Mount St. Joseph University in the HCAC standings, but will earn the top spot over the Lions via tiebreaker to host this year's conference tournament.  Defiance will be the host site for all games of the tournament with the quarterfinals beginning on Friday, Feb. 27.  As the No. 1 seed, DC earns a first-round bye and will play the winner of the No. 4 vs. No. 5 matchup on Saturday, Feb. 28.