DEFIANCE, Ohio – The Defiance College men's basketball team got the 2010-2011 season underway on Monday evening with a 90-76 victory over Kalamazoo inside the Karl H. Weaner Community Center. The win pushed DC's regular season win streak over non-conference foes to 11-straight contests.
The Jackets led throughout the majority of the night, as a Kyle Tietje jumper put DC in front to stay at 6-5 with 17:01 left in the opening stanza. The Tietje deuce was part of an 18-3 surge that flipped an early 5-2 deficit into a comfortable 20-8 cushion.
The gap would swell to 46-32 by the intermission, before a Leroy Lewis steal and behind-the-back pass to a streaking Brandon Campbell opened up a 64-42 lead for Defiance. The Jackets would take their largest lead of the game on a hoop from Justin Morris to extend the margin to 68-44, before coasting to the 90-76 victory.
All 15 Yellow Jackets played in the season opener, as nine players cracked the scoring column and 12 grabbed at least one rebound. DC attacked the glass relentlessly against the Hornets, posting a 53-31 advantage on the boards and chasing down 19 offensive caroms for 18 second-chance tallies.
Anthony Brown paced five Jackets in double figures with 19 points to go with six rebounds and a trio of assists, while Campbell set a new career high with 15 points. Logan Wolfrum ended with 14 points, six rebounds and five helpers, Kyle Tietje scored 12 and Ryan Hicks added 10 points, five boards, one block and one steal in his collegiate debut.
Lewis also excelled in his debut, as the freshman guard had nine points, five boards and two assists in the game, while Morris set a new career high with seven rebounds in his 10 minutes of work.
Defiance (1-0) improved to 22-2 under head coach Kyle Brumett when scoring at least 80 points and stayed unbeaten against Kalamazoo in 11 all-time meetings on the planks with the Hornets.
DC will head west to compete in Wheaton's Lee Pfund Classic on November 19 and 20. The Jackets will take on No. 21 UW-Whitewater in the 5:30 pm game on Friday, before playing either Covenant or Wheaton on Saturday evening.