Jackets End Season with Loss To Rose-Hulman

DEFIANCE, OHIO  --  The Defiance College men's basketball team lost a 77-65 decision against Rose-Hulman (Ind.) Institute of Technology in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference and season finale at the Karl H. Weaner Center on senior day.

As a team, Defiance struggled from the floor shooting 33.8 percent overall (24-of-71) and tallied 44 three-point attempts, finishing 14-of-44 for the game (31.8 percent).

Individually, the Yellow Jackets were led in scoring by senior Devin Mangas (Leipsic) with 16 points on six-of-14 shooting (42.9 percent) with four of his made field goals coming from three-point range.  Fellow seniors Michael Parker (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) and Chris Holmes (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) rounded out the double-figure scorers with 14 points each.  Parker also grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.

The game got off to somewhat of a slow start offensively as the two teams battled to a 2-2 tie two minutes into the game.  Defiance (6-19, 5-13 HCAC) then went on a 15-4 scoring run with a three-point fleury as all 15 points came from behind the arc to make the score, 17-6, with 13:42 to go in the first half.  

Following an ensuing three-point play by Rose-Hulman (14-11, 12-6 HCAC), DC answered with another triple, this time by sophomore Randall Aikins, Jr. (Detroit, Mich./Plymouth), to equal the earlier 11-point advantage.  The Fightin' Engineer offense then began to take over and chipped away at the Jacket lead and eventually grabbed a three-point advantage, 28-25, with just under five-and-a-half minutes remaining.

The two teams then played at a back-and-forth pace the rest of the way with neither team leading by more than five points.  The teams also swapped leads, but it was Rose-Hulman who garnered the final points of the half to claim a one-point margin at halftime, 40-39.

Defiance took nearly twice as many shots as Rose-Hulman in the second half, but only shot 26.3 percent from the field (10-of-38).  Trailing by a point, Rose-Hulman evened the game and took the lead for good as part of a 7-0 run to go ahead, 54-48, at the 11:34 mark.  The Yellow Jackets battled back to within one point on several occasions, including a 61-60 deficit with 6:33 to play, before the Engineers began to pull away.

Rose-Hulman took control of the game with an 8-0 run with six of those points coming at the free-throw line.  DC was forced to foul which allowed the Engineers to record its first double-digit lead, 73-63, with under a minute to go.  Rose-Hulman went on to post a 12-point advantage twice, including the final score of 77-65.

The Yellow Jackets end the 2016-17 season with the game against Rose-Hulman.