Second-half surge ends DC’s drought to finish Purple and Gold Tournament

DEFIANCE, Ohio – The Defiance Yellow Jackets posted a 53-point second half to secure an 80-68 victory over the Miami-Middletown ThunderHawks at the Karl H. Weaner Center on Saturday.

The Yellow Jackets (1-1) looked much more comfortable on their home floor and shot 54 percent for the contest and took advantage of foul trouble by the ThunderHawks (0-3) to secure the program's first win since Nov. 11, 2023. The victory also snapped a 23-game losing streak.

The previous game saw Indiana East earn their second victory over the two days with a 71-63 win over Great Lakes Christian. The Red Wolves finished 2-0 in the Purple and Gold Tournament in their first appearance in the event since 2005. 

The entire first half was a tight affair between DC and MU-M. After mustering just four points in four minutes, Defiance sat their starting five for the remainder of the first half and played to a 27-27 tie by halftime. The ThunderHawks worked a six-point lead with 12:27 to go in the opening half before a strong drive to the rack by Ried Jury came prior to a pair of Devonte Curry buckets evened the score at 14-14. Freshman Evan Angstmann put Defiance ahead on his first five points of the game with a pair of free throws to lead 16-14 and later 3-pointer to break a 20-20 tie. The ThunderHawks scored the next six points before Angstmann struck again to cap off his seven-point first half. After a Miami-Middletown free throw gave them a two-point lead with 14 seconds to go, Dre'Sean Roberts put his head down and got all the way to the rack to sink a game-tying layup just before the horn.

THE TURNING POINT

After a 27-27 tie at halftime, the Defiance started the second on a modest 9-3 run while Miami-Middletown racked up four fouls in two minutes. The Yellow Jackets scored layups on three straight possessions to push their lead to 10 points for the first time in the game. Kadar Gardner cut into that lead with a 3-ball but Defiance responded with an Evan Park jumper and a Donovan Stone triple to push back ahead by 10.

While Miami-Hamilton continued to hang around, they were in quick foul trouble in the second half and put the Yellow Jackets free throw shooting to the test. However, Defiance went 18-for-25 at the line down the stretch to as much as a 16-point gap with just over six minutes to go.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Defiance shot 48 percent in the first half followed by a 59 percent second half.
• The Yellow Jackets scored 80 points for the first time since Feb. 14, 2023, a 99-97 overtime win over Earlham.
• The Jackets were very strong on the boards with 34 rebounds compared to 23 by the ThunderHawks. Devonte Curry and Carter Sudhoff each led the team with six boards apiece.
• Two freshmen posted perfect performances from the floor as Donovan Stone and Carter Sudhoff each shot 4-for-4.
• Stone added one of the team's two made treys and led the team with 15 points in his second collegiate contest. 
• Jordyn Jury also had a perfect shooting night by going 3-for-3, including the game's first points. He also sank his only two free throw attempts. 
• Evan Angstman racked up seven points with a 3-pointer while giving the Jackets some valuable minutes. He registered one steal, one block and secured four rebounds.
• Connor Bush and Jalen Brown each reached double figures for the second game in a row with 11 and 10 points respectively.
• After a quiet night on Friday with just eight points, the DC bench provided a nice spark with 34 combined points while playing the majority of the first half.

UP NEXT
The Yellow Jackets return to action on Monday night with a visit to Divison I Oakland. It will be an exhibition for Defiance and the season opener for the Grizzlies.

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