Yellow Jackets Drop HCAC Matchup at Mount St. Jospeh

CINCINNATI, OHIO – The Defiance College men's basketball team dropped a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference contest to the Mount St. Joseph University Lions, 92-57, on Saturday afternoon.

The Yellow Jackets (3-18, 2-12 HCAC) were led in scoring by sophomore Jordan Maschino (Bradford/Covington) with 12 points and 11 rebounds, while freshman Elijah Pennington (Indianapolis, Ind./Pike) added 10 points in the loss. Junior Noah Goodrich (Oregon/Genoa) finished with nine points for Defiance.

DC struggled from the floor, shooting 38.3 percent (23-of-60), compared to MSJ's (14-7, 11-3 HCAC) 62.5 percent (35-of-56), including 54.2 percent (13-of-24) from beyond the arc. Mount St. Joseph also finished with a 35-26 rebounding edge.

After Defiance took a 5-2 lead to open the contest, MSJ went on a quick 8-0 spurt to take a 10-5 edge. With the Lions lead still sitting at five points, they hit consecutive triples to give them a 20-9 lead just over seven minutes into the first half. Defiance's deficit dropped to 12 points, 38-26, with 5:24 left in the first half, but a 12-2 MSJ run made it a 50-28 game late in the half, before the teams exchanged buckets to make it a 52-30 game at the break.

Mount St. Joseph continued their momentum and turned it into a big second half, as a 10-0 run early put Defiance in front, 77-37, with 13:45 to play. MSJ continued to pull away and grabbed a 92-57 victory.

Defiance will return to action on Wednesday, Feb. 7 as the arch-rival Bluffton University Beavers come to the Karl H. Weaner Center. The game is set to tip at 8 p.m.