Cleary sinks Jackets on a jumper in final seconds

LANSING, Mich. - A strong start and some clutch shots down the stretch were not enough to keep the Defiance Yellow Jackets ahead of the Cleary Cougars on Saturday as DC fell 68-66 at Gannon Gymnasium.

Following a 10-2 start and eventually the owners of an 11-point lead in the first half, the Yellow Jackets (5-10, 2-7 WHAC) cooled off before taking a 30-27 lead into halftime. The Cougars (3-11, 2-6 WHAC) started the second half on a 10-0 run and eventually shot 50 percent for the half to seal the win. Despite the slow start, Defiance made up ground from beyond the arc with 5 of 6 made field goals being 3-pointers to start the second act.

The game remained tight down to the wire and featured eight total ties. Evan Angstmann delivered one of DC's biggest shots in the game when he buried a corner trey to bring the score even at 62-62 with under three minutes to go. He returned to the scoring column two possessions later when he was fouled attempting a 3-pointer and made 2 of 3 to push Defiance ahead by two. On the next possession, Connor Bush swiped a Cleary pass at half-court and kicked a pass to Angstmann, who found Christian Burton crashing to the basket for a fast break bucket to lead by four.

THE TURNING POINT
Cleary responded with an enormous layup plus a free throw for a 3-point play with 52 seconds, a play that resulted in Carter Sudhoff's fifth foul of the game. With the Yellow Jackets leading by one, Defiance had a second-chance opportunity to put the game away but a turnover with the shot clock winding down gave the Cougars an opportunity to take the lead. The Cougars turned to their leading scorer on the season, Bennie Crenshaw Jr. who had been held to seven points. Crenshaw knocked down a pull-up jumper at the left elbow for the go-ahead bucket with 2.8 seconds left in the game.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• The loss deprived Defiance of their first three-game winning streak since the 2022-23 season. It was also the first loss of January for DC.
• Defiance took care of the basketball with just five turnovers in the first half and won the turnover margin for just the third time this season.
• Fouls and free throws were racked up for both teams. Each side committed 22 fouls and took a combined 51 free throws. Defiance went 13-for-26 at the line while the Cougars went 20-for-25.
• Evan Angstmann led Defiance in scoring and was two rebounds short of his second double-double this year.
• Christian Burton shined as well with a season-best 15 points to go with seven assists, both season best outputs.
• Connor Bush returned to his old home gymnasium at Lansing Community College and posted 13 points off the bench. The DC bench totaled 19 points for the game.
• Carter Sudhoff gave the Jackets a fourth player in double figures with a 12-point afternoon.

UP NEXT
Defiance continues the stretch run through the WHAC schedule with a home contest against Lawrence Tech on Wednesday. Tipoff against the Blue Devils will follow the women's contest at 7:30 p.m.

-JACKETS-