Men's Basketball defeated by Hanover

Hanover, Ind. - The Defiance men's basketball team played their first road conference game of the year Saturday afternoon at Hanover College. Hanover led from start to finish and cruised to a 73-46 victory. Hanover improves to 5-2 (2-0) while the Yellow Jackets drop to 2-5 (0-3). 

"I thought there were moments today where we competed and did what we've tried to instill in practice. Unfortunately these moments were inconsistent, and to beat good teams we have to be able to play with the same execution and intensity for 40 minutes. I still believe very much that this team can figure things out, so we will watch the film and get back to work!" - said Head Coach Josh Gibson.

The first half was a game of runs as Hanover started the game on a 15-2 run. Defiance responded with an 11-2 run to cut the lead to four points and that was as close as they would get as Hanover responded with a 23-10 spurt to take a 42-23 lead into halftime.

The Panthers shot 57% in the first half compared to only 33% for the Yellow Jackets and the Panthers turned eight first half turnovers by Defiance into 15 points. Hanover also had a 26-4 advantage in points in the paint in the first half and finished the game with a plus 30 advantage in points in the paint at 44-14.

Any hopes of a Defiance comeback was shut down as Hanover extended their lead to 30 points at 58-28 with 13:37 remaining in the game. The Yellow Jackets finished the game 34% from the floor while Hanover shot 51% for the game. The Panthers attempted 17 free throws compared to only two for the Yellow Jackets. 

Marell Jordan was the lone Yellow Jacket in double figures as he scored a team high and game high 27 points and added four steals to go along with six rebounds. Ty Houston led Hanover with 20 points and Coleman Sater added 17 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Hanover's bench outscored Defiance's bench, 25-12. 

The Yellow Jackets return home Wednesday night as they host Olivet in non conference action with tip-off set for 7:30pm at the Karl H. Weaner Center.