Saturday, February 02, 2013
by Dane Neumeister

Defiance College bolted out to a 10-point halftime lead, thanks to 59 percent shooting in the first half, and seven-three pointers, as they rolled to an 77-63 win today at the Mount. With the loss, the Lions slip to 7-14 overall, 6-8 in the HCAC, but hold onto sixth place in the conference, the last spot to qualify to the HCAC Tournament, by one game over both Anderson University and Bluffton University.

The Lions raced out to an early lead against the Yellow Jackets, but saw the visitors knot the score at 12-all thanks to a three-pointer with 12:34 on the first half clock. Defiance would then take control of the game, hitting numerous jump shots, both two-pointers and three-pointers, down to the intermission, to lead 41-31 at the break. Ken Kunkel (Cincinnati, OH/Colerain) helped keep the Mount close in the first half, firing in 13 points.

Defiance would go on a 14-2 scoring spree to open the second half, jumping out to a 55-33 advantage just 6:12 into the second half. The Yellow Jackets would maintain a comfortable double-digit lead throughout the second half, usually around 20 points, as they out-shot the Mount, 54 to 44 percent from the field. The win enabled the Yellow Jackets to post a 2-0 mark in the season series over the Lions.

Kunkel and Joel Scudder (Greendale, IN/South Dearborn) each totaled 14 points for the Mount, while David Mann (Fairfield, OH/Cincinnati Christian) chipped in six rebounds. Defiance edged the Mount in the rebounding battle, 26-25, and committed nine turnovers while the Lions had 10 turnovers.