Franklin Muscles Past Defiance in HCAC Clash

DEFIANCE, Ohio – Defiance fell for the first time in Heartland Conference action on Wednesday, as Franklin rallied from a 12-2 deficit to hand the Jackets a 76-66 defeat. The loss snaps a four-game win streak for DC.

C.J. Johnson had the touch early and connected on his first four shots for 10-straight points and a 12-2 Yellow Jacket lead, but the offense would stall. Defiance managed to hit just one of its next 13 shots and saw Franklin rattle off a 23-7 spurt to grab the 25-19 lead.

The Grizzlies would maintain their six-point cushion and take a 34-28 lead into the intermission before extending the lead to nine with a trey to open the second stanza. DC would trim the gap to seven with a pair of free throws, but would get no closer as Franklin took the 10-point win.

Defiance struggled all game to match Franklin’s physical play and managed to shoot only 39 percent during the first 20 minutes, before a late flurry pushed the final mark to 43 percent.

The woes carried over to the defensive end, where DC turned in one of its weakest performances of the season. Franklin carved up the Jackets with 36 points in the paint on several easy layups and ended the game shooting over 55 percent from the floor.

The 76 points mark the second highest point total allowed by Defiance this season and the 55.1 field goal percentage was the third highest yielded by the Jackets.

Johnson ended the night with 19 points to lead all scorers and also pulled down five rebounds. With the 19 points, Johnson climbed over the 1,200-point barrier for his career and became the 22nd player in school history to do so.

Nick Sales kept the Jackets close in the second half by scoring 17 of his season-high 18 points after the break and Mike Floyd tacked on 11 points to go with three assists.

Defiance (10-5, 5-1 HCAC) will look to right the ship when it heads to Anderson (7-9, 3-4 HCAC) on Saturday. DC took a 74-67 home victory over the Ravens on Dec. 1, but AU has played significantly better on its home court this year where it is 5-2 in seven contests.