Men’s basketball begins new year with HCAC loss

DEFIANCE, Ohio – On Saturday afternoon at the Karl H. Weaner Community Center, the Defiance College men's basketball squad began the new year with an 83-64 loss to the visiting Franklin College Grizzlies in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference action.

The defeat makes Defiance 7-4 overall this season, including 2-2 in HCAC play while Franklin improves to 7-4 and 3-1, respectively.

The Yellow Jackets led three times in the early going before the Grizzlies established a 48-29 advantage late in the opening half. FC knocked down 12 first-half three-pointers en route to a 48-31 halftime edge and took its largest lead of the day, 56-35, early in the second half. The closest DC could get after the intermission was 11 points on two occasions, the last time at 71-60 with less than five minutes to go.

On field goal attempts, Franklin shot 49.2 percent (31 of 63) while Defiance ended at 49.1 (28 of 57). From three-point range, however, the Yellow Jackets were outscored, 45-15. DC was guilty of 16 turnovers to the guests' nine and outrebounded by a slim 32-30 margin.

Marell Jordan (Lafayette, Ind./Jefferson) collected a game-high 18 points off the bench for the hosts while freshman Chase Glock (Stryker, Ohio/Stryker) scored a career-best 12, also as a reserve. Sean Tyson (Columbus, Ohio/Centennial) chipped in with 11 points, a career- and game-high eight rebounds and five assists.

Defiance hosts conference rival Bluffton University on Wednesday at 8 p.m. The contest comes after the women's game between the Jackets and Bluffton that starts at 6 p.m.