Men’s basketball cannot recover from early deficit in road loss

FRANKLIN, Ind. – On the road, the Defiance College men's basketball squad could not recover from an early deficit in an 86-77 loss to the Franklin College Grizzlies inside the Spurlock Center on Saturday night.

Defiance scored the first basket of the game and after a tie, Franklin rattled off 19 straight points for a 23-4 lead. The Yellow Jackets trimmed the margin to 11 points, 32-21, before trailing 44-29 at halftime. In the second half, DC roared back to make it a 67-61 contest with five minutes remaining, but again could not complete the comeback.

From the floor, the Grizzlies were 30 of 65 (46.2 percent) with Defiance shooting 25 of 63 (39.7). The Yellow Jackets made 7 of 19 (36.8 percent) from three-point territory, compared to just 4 of 18 (22.2) for the hosts. DC, which was guilty of only nine turnovers, was outrebounded by a 46-34 margin.

Marell Jordan poured in a season- and game-high 29 points to pace Defiance while freshman Dan Luers scored a career-best 26 and grabbed eight rebounds. Tyler Andrew had 14 points and matched Luers with eight boards.

The Yellow Jackets slip to 0-4 overall on the year while FC moves to an even 3-3. DC is scheduled to play again in Indiana against Anderson University next Friday with the tipoff set for 7 p.m.