Jackets downed at Mount St. Joe, 64-66

CINCINNATI, Ohio—The Defiance College Yellow Jackets fell at Mount St. Joseph on Saturday night, 64-66, dropping to 1-3 in the Heartland Conference and 8-6 overall.

DC was led by Curt Croy’s 21 points on 7-18 shooting with five three-pointers. Matt Laudick and Anthony Pettaway each hit for 10 points in the loss, while Kevin Darthard led the Lions with 19 points, two of them coming on his game-winning jumper with eight seconds left. The Jackets worked the ball down court after a time out, but could not get off a shot before the horn.

Defiance committed 15 turnovers to Mount’s 11 and had five less field goals that the hosts, but kept the contest close with eight triples to MSJ’s three. DC gave up 13 second-chance points while scoring just five themselves.

Another strong Jacket start was the story of the first 14 minutes as DC held a 26-8 advantage with 7:48 remaining in the first half after a Bryan Post triple. Darthard led the Lions gradually back into the game, hitting for seven points before the end of the half to close the gap to 33-27 DC at intermission.

The six-point Jacket lead almost immediately evaporated when the Lions went on an 8-0 run to open the half and later embarked on a 9-0 run to take a 58-46 lead with eight minutes remaining. Defiance scrambled to a 18-6 run and tied the score when Croy hit a triple with 16-seconds remaining to tie the score at 64-all.

The Jackets (8-6, 1-3 HCAC) will next host Anderson on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.