Alma surges past Defiance in second half to win, 84-69

DEFIANCE, Ohio - The Defiance College men's basketball team dropped Wednesday's non-conference tilt with Alma at the Weaner Community Center, 84-69.

The Yellow Jackets (1-2) held a seven-point lead at halftime, but the Scots (1-1) posted a 55-point second half and shot 50 percent from the floor during the second 20 minutes.

After trailing the entire first half, Tyshaun Walker hit a go-ahead 3-pointer for the Scots with 13:30 left in the second and a Connor Riley layup on their next possession to take a five-point lead that they never surrendered. The game went back and forth for several minutes until a nearly four-minute stretch decided the game.

Alma's lead stood at 54-53 after two made free throws by Landen Swanner out of a timeout with 7:07 left. From there, the Scots caught fire and went on an 18-7 run. They hit three consecutive 3-point buckets from three different players (Peyton Bush, Nate Deyman, and Tyshaun Walker) and kept rolling to build a 72-60 advantage with 3:20 left in the game.

Defiance clawed back to within seven on two different occasions in the final minutes, but Alma scored the last 10 points of the game to put the bow around a 15-point victory.

The first half was a different story for the Yellow Jackets, who led the entire half and took a 36-29 lead into the locker room. Defiance shot 46 percent from the floor during that stretch, canned five 3-pointers, and went a perfect 11-for-11 at the free throw line before the intermission. Three-pointers and free throws accounted for 26 of 36 first half points before shooting below 30 percent from the field in the second half.

Despite the strong first 20 minutes, it was all accomplished with zero first-half points by reigning HCAC Player of the Week Marell Jordan. Jordan got on the board with a free throw in the early stages of the second half, followed by an alley-oop dunk for his first field goal fed from Landon Swanner.

Defiance was led in scoring by Kiewaun Graham with 16, who also pulled in a team-high five rebounds. Swanner delivered 12 with the help of two treys while Dejsani Beamon and Te Jones chipped in 10 apiece. Jordan finished with five points and five assists.

Alma saw two players eclipse 20 points as Tyshaun Walker recorded a game-high 26 with a trifecta of triples and Connor Riley posted 22 points and eight boards for the Scots.

Defiance returns to the floor Thursday night for an exhibition at Division I Wright State prior to returning to the Weaner Center on Saturday afternoon. Tomorrow's tipoff against Wright State is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Nutter Center in Fairborn, Ohio.

-JACKETS-