Yellow Jackets grab first conference win

DEFIANCE, Ohio-- The Defiance College Yellow Jackets defeated the Manchester College Spartans, 72-67, at the Karl H. Weaner Center on Wednesday night for their first Heartland Conference win of the season.

Curt Croy led all scorers with 24 points on 9-of-17 shooting and four three-pointers. Matt Laudick and C.J. Johnson chipped in 17 and 14 points, respectively. The Jackets shot 52% from the floor and out-rebounded the Spartans 29-27. Manchester’s leading scorer was David Mattingly with 19 points.

Defiance had a 38-36 halftime lead on the strength of Croy’s 14 first-half points. The Jackets grabbed a seven-point lead after an 8-0 run, however, Manchester cut the lead to two on eight-straight points by Mattingly in the final minute of the half.

Defiance owned a 30-16 scoring advantage in the paint. Laudick had nine of those points in the second half, including a three-point play at the eight-minute mark to give the Jackets a 57-50 lead. Johnson hit a key jumper at 1:32 mark to make it a three-point lead and propel DC to an 8-5 mark on the season (1-2 HCAC).

The Yellow Jackets next match up is at Mount St. Joseph on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.