Yellow Jackets win nailbiter over Lawrence Tech

DEFIANCE, Ohio - The Defiance Yellow Jackets overcame a halftime deficit and faulty late-game free throw shooting to secure a 73-72 victory over the Lawrence Tech Blue Devils at the Karl H. Weaner Center on Wednesday.

The Yellow Jackets (6-10, 3-7 WHAC) earned their third win in four games by knocking off the second-place team in the WHAC men's basketball standings. The Blue Devils (9-8, 7-3 WHAC) have now lost 3 of 4 on the heels of seven straight wins. 

The first half was as tight on the stat sheet as it could be. Both teams secured 17 rebounds and turned the ball over five times but the difference was a pair of Lawrence Tech buckets to carry a 40-36 lead into the locker room. 

DC built a 14-7 run to start the game started by a pair of 3-pointers by Evan Angstmann followed by triples by Jalen Brown and Christian Burton. LTU closed the gap with three ties and four lead changes over the first 20 mintues, but the Blue Devils used a 9-0 run to open up a 10-point lead. Brown breathed life back into the Jackets with a triple and a pair of free throws ahead of a layup by Burton to cut the lead to four ahead of the break.

After halftime, the game continued to play neck-and-neck down the stretch. Burton and Donovan Stone each hit go-ahead 3-pointers coming down the stretch but the game was all square at 67-67 exiting the final media timeout.

THE TURNING POINT

With the score knotted at 67 apiece, Defiance went on a 6-0 run to capture the lead and the momentum. Brown found a go-ahead layup with four minutes left and connected on a 15-footer a minute later to put the Jackets up by two possessions. Connor Bush delivered a big steal on the other end and turned it into two more points with 2:08 left in the game. That bucket would be the last points scored by the Yellow Jackets.

While Lawrence Tech went cold from the floor, the Jackets had multiple chances to ice the game at the free throw line. However, DC missed their last five free throws over the last 45 seconds, including four with less than 30 second remaining. A critical Defiance turnover left the door open for the Blue Devils when LTU's Blake Lund stole an inbound pass, laid the ball in for two and added a free throw to trim DC's lead to one point with 22 seconds left. 

Both teams came up empty in separate trips to the line following that play, but the Blue Devils had the ball last with just seven seconds left. Stone missed a pair and Lund grabbed the board, raced to the other end and found Aaron Dolny in the left corner for an open 3-pointer. Dolny's shot was off the rim as time expired to seal Defiance's third conference victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• The win was Defiance's first game against Lawrence Tech since the 1951-52 season.
• Defiance earned their third win of the year when trailing at halftime.
• DC also improved to 3-1 in January.
• The Yellow Jackets outshot Lawrence Tech 48 percent to 46, and they also posted the team's best 3-point shooting game of the season at 43 percent outside the arc.
• DC's 11 turnovers were the second-fewest in a game this season.
• Defiance had four players in double figures led by Evan Angstmann's 15. It was Angstmann's fifth straight game over 10 points.
• Christian Burton supplied 13 points, his second straight contest in double figures. Connor Bush also added 13 off the bench.
• Jalen Brown scored 12 points after enduring a four-game drought scoring under 10 points. His biggest scores of the night were in the closing minutes and accounted for 4 of DC's last 6 points. He also secured a team-high four rebounds alongside Angstmann.
• Devonte Curry led Defiance with four assists, which were all racked up the Jackets' first five buckets of the game.

UP NEXT
Defiance entertained Indiana Tech for a WHAC doubleheader beginning with a 1 p.m. women's game. The men's contest is scheduled for 3 p.m. against the Warriors, who are receiving votes in the national NAIA coaches poll.

-JACKETS-