Jackets Cruise to P&G Financial Tournament Championship

DEFIANCE, Ohio – Defiance raced out to an 11-3 lead and never looked back, claiming its 18th Purple and Gold Financial Tournament Championship in 33 years with a dominating, 99-61, victory against Tri-State on Sunday afternoon.

Anthony Pettaway was named as the Tournament MVP after averaging 14.5 points and 4.0 rebounds over two games. C.J. Johnson and Anthony Jackson also earned spots on the P&G Financial All-Tournament Team after Johnson averaged 13.0 points and 2.5 steals and Jackson netted 9.0 points and 3.0 assists a game, while sinking four-of-six attempts from beyond the arc.

Deon Thompson rounded out the honors for the Yellow Jackets, as the freshman point guard averaged 3.5 steals and 2.5 assists a game off the bench to win the Gerry Boomer Sportsmanship Award. The honor goes to the player who displays great sportsmanship and hustle on the court.

Defiance carried over its momentum from a 20-point win on Saturday to control the action from the opening tip in Sunday’s championship game. The Jackets sank their first five attempts from the floor and assisted all five of those buckets en route to building an 11-3 lead by the 16:47 mark.

Tri-State scored the next four points to cut the Yellow Jacket lead in half, but Mike Floyd’s trey pushed the spread back to seven and the route was on.

Defiance would build a 47-25 lead at the break and immediately push the spread to 30 with a 10-2 spurt to open the second stanza. The lead would balloon to as high as 42 at 79-37 with 10 minutes remaining, before Defiance finished off the 99-61 win.

Defiance had production up and down the bench, as all 16 players put at least two points in the scoring column and all but one hauled down at least one rebound. Pettaway led the way with 14 points on seven-of-11 shooting and Jackson joined him in double figures with 10 points, six assists and four rebounds.

The Jackets were clicking from everywhere on the court and ended the game shooting 50.7 percent from the field and with 10 makes from three-point range. The Jackets also sank 17 free throws, posted 25 points off turnovers and had 58 points off the bench.

Defiance moves to 8-4 overall with the victory and has now won six of its last seven games. DC will look to stay hot as it begins a stretch of 13-straight HCAC games to close the regular season. The league action will start on Jan. 5 when the Jackets host Mount St. Joseph at 3:00 pm.