Yellow Jackets Tame Grizzlies

DEFIANCE, OHIO  --  The duo of juniors Michael Parker (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) and Tyler Alexander (Indianapolis, Ind./Northwest) combined to score 53 of the team's 90 points as the Defiance College men's basketball team defeated Franklin (Ind.) College, 90-83, in a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference game at the Karl H. Weaner Center.

After scoring a career-high 28 points in his previous game, Parker added a game-best 27 points against the Grizzlies on eight-of-14 shooting (57.1 percent) that included seven three-pointers.  Alexander scored 26 points on 12-of-18 shooting (66.7 percent) and grabbed eight rebounds.

In addition to Parker and Alexander, junior Chris Holmes (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) was third on the team in scoring with 17 points and freshman Blake Dunbar (Napoleon) added 15 points.  Senior Wade Wooley (Wauseon) pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds.

The two teams played a competitive first half with five ties and eight lead changes.  Franklin (1-20, 1-13 HCAC) led early, but a 7-0 scoring run by Defiance (12-9, 10-4 HCAC) gave the Yellow Jackets a four-point margin, 9-5, and was capped by a three-pointer by Dunbar at the 16:02 minute mark.  

DC equaled its four-point advantage several times over the next few minutes until a 6-0 run by the Grizzlies put Franklin back out on top, 16-14, with 12:51 to go in the half.  The Jackets answered with a 12-1 scoring tear that ended in a triple by Parker and gave DC its largest lead of the half of nine points, 26-17, with just over nine minutes remaining.

Franklin responded with an ensuing run of its own and outscored DC, 16-5, in the next 4:53 to lead by two points, 33-31, at the 4:12 mark.  The two teams swapped leads to end the period, but it was the Grizzlies who led, 41-39, at the break.

Defiance quickly regained the lead with seven straight points to begin the second half and later took control of the game with a 9-0 run to extend the margin to its largest of the game of 14 points, 59-45, with 12:15 to go.  Defiance maintained a double figure advantage for the majority of the remainder of the half, but a late scoring run by Franklin on a series of successful three-pointers, narrowed the gap to just six points, 89-83, with 23 seconds left.

But time was not on Franklin's side as one-of-two free-throws by Dunbar in the final seconds and a missed final three-point attempt by the Grizzlies sealed the victory for DC by the final of 90-83.

Franklin had all but two players who saw time in the game score in double figures, led by Aaron Mann with 20 points.  Robbie Prather was second with 15 points and John Beineke had 13 points.  The duo of Trae Washington and Trey Boles both scored 12 points and Blake Oakley rounded out the high scorers with 11 points.

Defiance will travel to Bluffton for a HCAC game against Bluffton University on Wednesday, Feb. 10.  The game will be part of a basketball doubleheader with the Yellow Jacket women's team.  The women will tip-off against the Beavers at 6 p.m., followed by the men at 8 p.m.