Jackets recover once but overwhelmed by Olivet in second half

OLIVET, Mich. – It was the tale of two halves for the Defiance Yellow Jackets that led to a 91-60 defeat to the Olivet Comets at the Cutler Event Center on Wednesday.

The Yellow Jackets (1-2) closed an 18-point gap down to five with a 20-7 run before halftime and finished 45 percent for the half, but the squad tapered off to shoot 28 percent after the break. Meanwhile, the Comets (1-2) converted 55 percent of their shots from the field and used seven 3-pointers in the second half to pull away.

Olivet's early burst out of the locker started in response to a trey by Defiance's Landen Swanner just over a minute into the half. Lee Hardy hit a triple on Olivet's end then boarded a missed layup by Cole Wojciechowski that led to another 3-pointer by Ryan Bart to push the Comets lead into double figures. Olivet grew their lead to 24 over a near four-minute stretch between 15:55 and 12:18 remaining, a stretch that Defiance went 0-for-6, committed a pair of turnovers and surrendered three offensive boards. With just under eight minutes left, Bart grabbed an offensive rebound and hit another 3-pointer to push the lead to 30 for the first time.

During the first half battle, the Jackets never led but did work a pair of ties at 12-12 and 14-14. Swanner's first of three treys cut Olivet's 12-6 lead in half, then Sherod Brooks grabbed an Olivet miss that led to a score at the rim for Wojciechowski, who forced a foul on the play and sank a free throw to tie the game. Swanner answered an Olivet score on the other end before the Comets went on an 18-0 run to open up their first big lead of the game.

Swanner led Defiance with 15 points and dished out a team-best four assists. Wojciechowski tallied 11 points and led the Jackets with six rebounds and two blocks in the loss. Bart led all scorers in the game with an even 20 markers for Olivet. Noah Wiswary was one of two other Comets in double figures and picked up a double-double thanks to 10 assists.

The next game for the Yellow Jackets is a home contest this Saturday against Kalamazoo at 2 p.m. and will honor the 1972-73 men's basketball team that qualified for the NAIA National Tournament.

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