Men's Hoops Beaten By Transylvania in Double Overtime

DEFIANCE, OHIO  --  The Defiance College men's basketball team lost to Transylvania (Ky.) University, 111-102, in double overtime in a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference game at the Karl H. Weaner Center.

In a game that saw a combined 78 free-throw attempts by the two squads, including a 29-of-32 individual effort by the visiting team, and a total of 213 points, Transylvania would come away with the victory.

Defiance had five players score in double-figures, led by senior Michael Parker (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) with 22 points on seven-of-16 shooting (43.8 percent).  He also grabbed 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season.  Fellow senior Chris Holmes (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) led the team in scoring with a career-high 23 points and also had a team-high five assists.

Sophomore Randall Aikins, Jr. (Detroit, Mich./Plymouth) scored 17 points, followed by sophomore Noah Goodrich (Toledo/Genoa) with 12 points.  Rounding out the high scorers was senior Devin Mangas (Leipsic) with 10 points.

In addition, senior Keandre Gilmer (Toledo/Rogers) grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds to go along with six points.

Defiance (3-10, 2-4 HCAC) jumped out to an early 7-0 lead to begin the game, but Transylvania (8-5, 3-3 HCAC) answered with an ensuing 11-2 scoring run to take a slim 11-9 advantage at the 15:43 mark.  The Yellow Jackets regained the lead with a three-pointer by Parker and a jumper by Parker to make the score 14-11 with 14:27 to go before halftime.

The five consecutive points by Parker were part of a larger 18-4 run by the Jackets that resulted in a 12-point margin, their largest of the game, at the 7:32 mark following a three-pointer by Holmes that made the score 27-15.  The Pioneers battled back to get to within four points, 35-31, just before the break, but the final points of the half came off the hands of Aikins as DC took a 37-31 edge into the locker rooms.

The second half saw Transylvania outscore Defiance, 16-5, in the first 6:22 to lead by five points, 47-42, at the 13:38 mark.  DC then made a rally of its own and eventually fought back lead by nine points, 62-53, en route to leading by as many as 10 points, 68-58, with just over four minutes to go thanks to a pair of free-throws by Aikins.

DC maintained its double-digit margin with 1:49 to play, but Transylvania ended the game by outscoring the Jackets, 13-3, including hitting the game-tying basket with just two seconds to go in regulation, forcing overtime with the score deadlocked at 78-78.

In the first overtime, the Pioneers began the scoring with a three-pointer to grab the lead, and eventually went on to lead by four points, 89-85, with 32 seconds remaining.  This time, it was DC who rallied as Goodrich connected on an ensuing three-pointer to cut the deficit to a point, 89-88.  Following a pair of free-throws by Transylvania, Parker was successful on a triple of his own with three seconds on the clock to even the game at 91-91 and forced a second overtime.

The second overtime began with an 8-2 run by Transylvania that gave the Pioneers a 99-93 advantage at the 1:38 mark.  Defiance would pull to within four points on multiple occasions, but that was as close as it would get the rest of the way as the Pioneers made 12 straight free-throws to seal the 111-104 victory.

Defiance will travel to Richmond, Ind. for a HCAC matchup against Earlham (Ind.) College on Wednesday, Jan. 11.  The game is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.