MBB Preview: Defiance visits Franklin to begin second half of conference play
DEFIANCE, Ohio – After beginning 0-9 in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play, the Defiance College men's basketball team readies for the second trip through the league schedule with a visit to Franklin College on Saturday. Tipoff at the Spurlock Center is scheduled for 3 p.m. and will follow the women's contest. Live stats and live video are both available to follow the contest at Franklin.
Defiance sits at 5-11 overall with nine games remaining on the schedule, the Yellow Jackets have little room for error in hopes to make the conference tournament at the end of the year. In their last game, Earlham handed DC their sixth straight defeat. Marell Jordan poured in 28 points to move into 15th place on the Jackets' all-time scoring list with 1,431 points. Jordan currently leads the HCAC in scoring at 20.1 points per game.
Franklin comes into play with a 10-6 record and 6-3 in the HCAC, tied for second with Rose-Hulman and Manchester. The Grizzlies have won three straight and 6 of 8. Their most recent contest was a 65-53 home victory over Mount St. Joseph that saw sophomore Lynn King record his fifth double-double of the year with 15 points and 13 boards. King ranks third in the HCAC in rebounding average at 8.1 per game.
The two teams played on December 3 at the Weaner Center as the Grizzlies knocked down 23 3-pointers and were victorious, 111-77. Carter Crowe hit eight trifectas and scored 30 points to go with nine rebounds and six assists for Franklin. Te Jones led DC in scoring with 19 in the last matchup. All-time, Defiance leads the series 33-20.
The Yellow Jackets and Grizzlies each score 70.1 points per game, tied for fourth-best in the conference while going the opposite direction on defense. DC is last in the HCAC in defensive scoring at 78.9 points per night while Franklin's defense surrenders 65 per contest, the conference's second-lowest average while holding opponents to shoot a conference-low 41 percent. DC paces the conference in 3-point shooting percentage just below 38 percent as Franklin counters with the most makes per game, sitting at 9.2 per triples per game.
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