Men’s basketball records nine-point win in Kentucky

CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky. – As a part of the Coach Connor Classic at Thomas More University, the Defiance College men's basketball squad recorded an 82-73 win over the University of Akron Wayne College Warriors on Friday night in a neutral-site game at Connor Convocation Center.

With the victory, Defiance is now 4-0 overall on the season, already surpassing its wins total from each of the past two campaigns. Wayne College slips to 2-3 overall.

The Yellow Jackets fell behind, 15-6, in the early going but tied the contest at 28-28 with 3:45 left before halftime. DC ended the first half on a 10-0 run for a 38-30 lead at the intermission and upped the advantage to 14 points, 65-51, with seven minutes remaining. Akron-Wayne sliced its deficit to 72-69 with 1:45 to go before Defiance finished with a 10-4 spurt, knocking down 4-of-4 free throws in the final 32 seconds.

From the field, the Yellow Jackets were 33 of 72 (45.8 percent) while the Warriors ended 31 of 76 (40.8 percent). DC made eight three-pointers and forced Wayne into 19 turnovers that led to 20 points. Defiance had 20 assists and 14 points off the bench, compared to nine and two, respectively, for the Warriors.

Tyler Andrew (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence Central) led a balanced DC attack with a game-high 20 points and seven rebounds while Micaiah Cox (Fort Recovery, Ohio/Fort Recovery) produced 16 points and also pulled down seven boards. Freshman Jack Kolar (Cincinnati, Ohio/Cincinnati Hill Christian Academy) collected a career-high 15 points to go along with six rebounds and three assists while Sean Tyson (Columbus, Ohio/Centennial) had 12 points and a game-best nine assists. In a reserve role, Marell Jordan (Lafayette, Ind./Jefferson) added 10 points and a game-high three steals.

In another Coach Connor Classic contest at Thomas More, the Jackets will take on Kent State University at Tuscarawas on Saturday at noon.