Gehlhausen sizzles but Grizzlies surge for 81-74 comeback over Jackets

DEFIANCE, Ohio – The Defiance Yellow Jackets led for more than 33 minutes of Saturday's conference battle with the Franklin Grizzlies but a late run lifted the visitors to an 81-74 victory at the Karl H. Weaner Center.

Despite Will Gehlhausen's second game with seven 3-pointers this season, the Jackets suffered their 12th straight defeat and second in a row by single digits. The Grizzlies experienced a drastic turnaround from shooting just under 30 percent during the first half to 59 percent in the second half and won their fourth straight game to improve to 8-7 and 6-2 in the conference.

TURNING POINT

With DC holding a 10-point lead, Franklin's Cody Samples sank a 3-pointer from the left side of the arc with 5:55 left in the game and drew a foul in the process. Samples converted the ensuing free throw for a four-point play and the Grizzlies went off on an 11-1 run to tie the contest at 72-72 with 2:48 remaining.

Samples delivered the go-ahead bucket on a backdoor cut, snagged a Landen Swanner miss on the other end, and found Ryan Bostic for an emphatic 3-pointer to complete a five-point swing in 30 seconds.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Yellow Jackets shook off turnovers on three of their first four possessions and a 4-0 deficit with a 12-2 to get into rhythm. Four different players scored during that run, including a pair of triples by Will Gehlhausen. Defiance continued to take care of the basketball and played without a turnover until the 9:00 mark of the first half. By that point, the Jackets built a double-digit lead while the Grizzlies struggled mightily from the field, which included an 0-for-10 start from beyond the arc and 5-for-23 overall. Defiance's lead swelled to 26-12 by the 7:31 media timeout, the team's largest lead of the season.

Shortly out of the stoppage, Franklin sank their shot from long range and started to rally over the final few minutes. It took just over four minutes to trim the lead to four points with the help of a 10-0 run between 4:42 and 2:40, finishing 6-for-14 from the field. 

Leading 34-28 at halftime, Defiance received a pair of treys from Sherod Brooks around a steal and score by Ried Jury at the start of the second half to push the score to 42-33.

The Jackets responded with another Grizzlies surge that saw their lead cut down to as few as two points. Landen Swanner responded with a score to the right of the rim and picked off a Franklin pass before finding Gehlhausen for a long 3-pointer from the right wing to go back up by seven. Gehlhausen went on to make two more from outside to boost the lead to a dozen with 6:48 left.

After Franklin took the five-point lead in the final minutes, DC's Evan Park hit a short jumper with 44 seconds left. The Grizzlies' Jessie Morgan Jr. responded and put the finishing touches on a monstrous afternoon with a score in the paint to conclude a 28-point performance.

In addition to the vast improvement in Franklin's shooting, the Grizzlies outshot the Yellow Jackets 18-2 during the second half and converted 15 of those attempts. The Grizzlies narrowly beat Defiance in the battle of the boards with 36 rebounds compared to 33. The Jackets also committed 14 turnovers, seven in each half, while forcing Franklin into just two during the final 20 minutes.

BRINGING THE STING

• Defiance made 10 3-pointers in the loss, making it the fourth game in the team's last six contests with double-figure makes from outside the arc.
• Will Gehlhausen made seven of DC's 10 treys and led the Jackets with 27 points. The junior from Norwalk also boarded five rebounds during his second career 20-plus-point outing.
• Sherod Brooks notched his third straight game in double figures with 13 points and chipped in on five rebounds. The Bowsher grad now has six games in double digits this season.
• Landen Swanner scored 10 for his team-best 10th double-digit scoring game. The junior made six passes that led to DC scores to lead the team in assists for the fifth straight game.
• Ried Jury gave Defiance 26 minutes and five assists, a new career-high for the former Hopewell-Loudon Chieftain. Jury's two steals also tied a career-best total as he scored four points to match his best total this season.
• Evan Park was DC's top rebounder with seven boards, the best total of his career. He scored six points as well.

UP NEXT

Defiance returns to the court with a road contest at Anderson on Wednesday night. Tipoff against the Ravens is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at O.C. Lewis Gymnasium.

-JACKETS-