Men's Hoops Open Season With Win Against Wabash

WHEATON, ILL.  --  Junior Devin Mangas (Leipsic) scored a game and career-high 26 points to lead the Defiance College men's basketball to a 76-59 win against Wabash (Ind.) College in the season-opener for the Yellow Jackets as part of the Lee Pfund Classic hosted by Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill.

Mangas scored his 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting (66.7 percent), including making three triples, to go along with nine rebounds.  Mangas was one of four players in double figures with junior Chris Holmes (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) scoring 13 points and the duo of juniors Michael Parker (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) and Tyler Alexander (Indianapolis, Ind./Northwest) both added 10 points.  Senior Wade Wooley (Wauseon) also recorded a career night with a game and career-high of 14 rebounds.  

Defiance (1-0) began the first half with an 8-0 scoring run that included six points by Holmes during the run.  Wabash (0-1) responded with five unanswered points of its own to get to within three points, 8-5, at the 13:41 minute mark.  The Yellow Jackets then outscored the Little Giants by a 15-3 margin over the next 4:29 to extend their lead to double figures with their largest lead of the period of 15 points, 23-8, following a three-pointer by Mangas with just over nine minutes to go in the half.  

Leading, 27-14, Wabash scored 11 straight points to get to within a basket, 27-25, with 2:25 to go.  But Mangas would score the final six points of the period for DC on a three-point play and another triple to give the Jackets a 33-27 advantage at the break.

Defiance built its lead back to double figures in the early minutes of the second half.  The Little Giants hung around and battled back to within five points, 48-43, with 10:27 left in the game.  But that would be as close as Wabash would get as an ensuing 7-2 run that ended in a three-pointer by Parker, pushed the lead back to 10 points, 55-45, with 8:43 to go.  The Jackets continued to pull away with a series of scoring runs en route to posting their largest lead of the game of 17 points on two occasions, including a final score of 76-59.

DC shot 41.8 percent (28-of-67) from the floor and out-rebounded the Little Giants, 50-43.  Wabash was held to just 31.3 percent (21-of-67) shooting and was led in scoring by Daniel Purvlicis with 15 points and eight boards.  Austin Burton was the only other player in double figures with 13 points.

The Jackets advance to the championship game of the Lee Pfund Classic tomorrow (Saturday, Nov. 21) and will face the winner of the Wheaton/George Fox (Ore.) matchup at 9 p.m.