Men's Basketball Tamed by the Lions

DEFIANCE, OHIO - The Defiance College men's basketball team was tamed by the Mount St. Joseph Lions on Saturday afternoon in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference action, 79-64. 

The Yellow Jackets were led in the contest by freshman Kiewuan Graham (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) with a game-high 23 points, including three three-pointers. 

Mount St. Joseph claimed the lead early in the opening half and never looked back as back-to-back three-pointers put the Lions on top 14-0 with 15:42 remaining. DC would finally get on the board moments later as a layup by freshman Dakota Barkley (Fort Wayne, Ind./Churubusco) and a pair of free throws from freshman Avion Franklin (Toledo/Whitmer) cut the deficit to 17-4. However, the MSJ offense continued to fire on all cylinders as another 5-0 run extended the lead with 10:11 remaining, 26-12. The Blue and Gold captured its largest lead of the half at the 5:31 minute mark following a free-throw by Tyler Manaugh, 38-14. The conference leading Lions went on to claim the 44-25 halftime advantage.

DC looked to get something going in the second half as freshman Elijah Pennington (Indianapolis, Ind./Pike) found his range from behind the arc pulling Defiance within 47-28 with 19:29 to play. The two teams exchanged points for much of the early minutes before another Defiance deep ball from sophomore Keith McClure (Toledo/Christian) cut the lead to 53-37 at the 16:20 mark. However, the Lions offense continued to dominate claiming its largest lead of the contest following a three-pointer by Adam Goetz midway through the half, 74-48. The Purple and Gold looked to make a run late but MSJ was able to hold off the surge and capture the 79-64 road victory.

The Purple and Gold return to action Wednesday, January 17 as they travel to Earlham. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.