Defiance Rolls to Sixth-Straight Win

DEFIANCE, Ohio – Defiance raced to a 15-2 lead and never looked back en route to a 60-39 win over Rose-Hulman on Wednesday night in the Weaner Community Center. The victory moved the Jackets to 10-2 overall and 4-1 in the HCAC and was their sixth win in as many games.

Anthony Pettaway picked up his sixth double-double performance of the season and led all players with 20 points and 12 rebounds in just 25 minutes of action. C.J. Johnson was the only other player in the game to crack double figures as the junior guard poured in 19 on five-of-seven shooting in 16 minutes.

Defiance dominated the battle of the boards, pulling down 41 rebounds compared to Rose-Hulman’s 23. The Jackets also shot 50 percent for the third-straight contest and had 10 of their 16 players who played crack the scoring column.

Johnson ignited the early rally, netting eight of DC’s first 12 points and the Jacket defense held Rose to just two points in the first 11:26. During that time DC built a 15-2 advantage.

The Engineers fought back into the game in the final minutes of the opening half, taking advantage of a DC scoring drought which saw the Jackets go without a basket for the final 7:14. Rose-Hulman outscored DC 11-6 over that span and trimmed the Yellow Jacket lead to 23-18 at the break.

Defiance wasted little time widening the gap after intermission and quickly put the game away, opening the start of the second half with a 24-6 rally to push its lead to 47-24. The Jackets cruised from there, completing the wire-to-wire win by a score of 60-39.

Defiance (10-2, 4-1 HCAC) will now play a pair of tough road games on the next two Saturdays. DC will play at Mount St. Joseph on Jan. 6 at 3:00 pm before traveling to Transylvania on Jan. 13 for a 3:00 contest.