Comeback falls short for Yellow Jackets at Spalding

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - In the team's first road game of the regular season, the Defiance Yellow Jackets overcame a 14-point deficit in the second half but were unable to score in the final two minutes of the game as the Spalding Golden Eagles earned a 69-61 win at Columbia Gym on Saturday.

The Yellow Jackets (2-2) were hot and cold at stretches but gave the reigning SLIAC runner-up a fight for 40 minutes. Saturday's contest was the season-opener for the D-III Golden Eagles (1-0).

In the first half, Defiance built a 19-13 lead over the first nine minutes of the game for their biggest lead of the night. By the halfway point of the opening half, DC led by five at 21-16. Spalding found their groove and outscored the Yellow Jackets 23-8 over over the last 10 minutes of the half and led 39-29 at the break. 

After the Golden Eagle pushed their lead to 14 points four minutes into the second, which was their largest lead of the game, the tide started to turn. Defiance mounted a resilient 16-4 run from 15:17 to 8:24 and clawed back within two points. Defiance scored seven straight points from 12:51-9:14 with four points by Jalen Brown, two from Evan Park and a free throw by Connor Bush. After Spalding broke that streak with a layup, Brown answered with a triple to bring that once large lead down to 54-52.

THE TURNING POINT
After shaving Spalding's lead to one possession by the halfway point of the second half, the Yellow Jackets pulled even at 61-61 on a jumper by Evan Park with 2:44 left in the game. That was the last bucket scored by the Yellow Jackets. Both teams went scoreless over the next minute. Defiance couldn't capitalize with the ball following a Spalding miss and the Eagles broke the last tie of the night after grabbing three offensive rebounds before Anthony Dillard laid in the fourth shot of the possession. DC turned the ball over on the other end and it led to a fastbreak layup for the Eagles to go ahead by four. An offensive foul handed the ball back to Spalding with 51 seconds left which led to another second-chance layup by Dillard to go up 67-61. While the Jackets committed three turnovers in the last 2:20, Spalding grabbed four offensive rebounds to tip the scales to the home team.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Every statistical category was tight but slightly tipped towards Spalding. Defiance shot 42 percent to Spalding 45. Each team made four 3-pointers while the Eagles went 15-for-22 at the line compared to DC's 13-of-17. Spalding also narrowly outrebounded the Jackets 35-31. In the turnover game, Defiance committed 16 while Spalding coughed up 13.
• Jalen Brown had another stellar game for Defiance. He scored 23 points with 15 in the second half. It was the freshman's second straight 20-point game.
• Connor Bush and Evan Park joined Brown in double figures with 13 and 12 respectively.
• Evan Angstmann, also a freshman, received his first starting nod of his career and led the team with seven rebounds. He also scored six points on a pair of 3-pointers.
• Donovan Stone added five points but was also one of three players to swipe three steals.
• Spalding's Anthony Dillard led all scorers with 26 points and also secured eight rebounds.

UP NEXT
Defiance has one more tune-up before conference play begins with a 7 p.m. tipoff at Goshen on Wednesday.

-JACKETS-