Jackets Falter Down the Stretch in Loss to OWU

DEFIANCE, Ohio – Defiance suffered its second one-point loss of the season on Wednesday night, falling 68-67 to Ohio Wesleyan. The Battling Bishops claimed the lead with 13 seconds on the clock and clinched the come-from-behind victory when C. J. Johnson’s last-second attempt came up empty.

The Jackets struggled offensively down the stretch yet again, opening the door by failing to make a field goal in the final 4:21 of action and mustering only eight points in the last 10 minutes. The Bishops capitalized by closing the game on an 8-2 spurt and completed the comeback on a pair of Jesse Jean buckets in the paint during the game’s closing seconds.

Jean cut the Defiance lead to 67-66 with 1:16, before sinking the eventual game-winning layup with 13 ticks showing on the clock. Johnson brought the ball back down the court, slicing into the lane with a chance to win but could not connect at the buzzer.

The action was nip and tuck the entire game, as the teams battled to eight ties and nine lead changes over the course of the 40 minutes of play. No team lead by more than six points until Defiance used a 12-0 rally to build a 59-50 lead with 10:15 to play.

After trading buckets, OWU clawed back into the game with an 8-1 run to draw to within two points at 62-60 with 4:43 to go. Nick Sales momentarily stemmed the tide with an old fashioned three-point play, but the Bishops finished the game by scoring eight of the last 10 points to steal the victory.

Defiance did much of its damage from the charity stripe, as the Jackets connected on 21-of-25 free throws to bolster its offensive attack. OWU countered by dominating the glass throughout much of the game and ended with a 17-6 advantage in second-chance points.

Johnson led DC once again with 16 points after making all 10 of his attempts from the free throw line. Johnson also added three assists, three rebounds and four steals in his 33 minutes. Anthony Pettaway scored nine of his 14 in the second half and Nick Sales picked up the first double-double of the season for Defiance with 12 points, 10 rebounds and a pair of blocks.

Bryan Post played well in his third start of the season, tallying six points and three steals in 17 minutes, while Nate Helton and Deon Thompson teamed up to total five points, three assists and four steals from the point guard position.

Jean led OWU (3-2) with 17 points and 11 boards, while Brian Cafarella netted 16 and Dustin Rudegeair ended his night with 15 points and seven rebounds.

Defiance (2-3) will open HCAC play on Saturday when it hosts Anderson (2-2) inside the Karl H. Weaner Community Center at 3:00 pm.