DEFIANCE, Ohio – Anthony Brown stroked 10-of-14 shots from the field and poured in a career high 32 points to lead Defiance to a 72-67 triumph over the No. 17 Anderson Ravens on Wednesday night in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference opener for both squads.
The victory was DC's fifth-straight win over Anderson inside the Karl H. Weaner Community Center and gave the Jackets their third-straight victory against a nationally ranked AU team, dating back to the final two meetings of the 2009-2010 campaign.
Brown added nine free throws in as many attempts to end with 32 points and has now netted 24.0 points per game against the Ravens in the last three meetings. Freshman Ryan Hicks also excelled for DC, notching personal bests with 14 points, seven rebounds, two steals and an assist in his 29 minutes of work off the bench.
Logan Wolfrum joined the duo in double figures with 10 points and added five assists and five boards, while Kevin Tietje hauled in eight defensive caroms to go with six points, two steals and a block in the winning effort.
Tietje's efforts on the glass helped Defiance hold a 37-36 edge in rebounds over the larger Anderson lineup and set the tone for DC's best defensive performance of the young 2010-2011 season. The Jackets collected five blocks and six steals, while holding AU under 40-percent shooting in both halves.
Defiance shot poorly in the opening stanza as well, hitting just 38.5 percent of its attempts from the floor but capitalized on an 11-of-13 showing from the charity stripe to claim a 33-30 halftime advantage.
The Jackets withstood multiple charges from the Ravens over the closing 20 minutes, grabbing the lead for good at the 13:38 mark on a jumper from Brown that put DC up 41-40. Another deuce from Brown extended the cushion to 45-40, before Hicks scored three buckets and assisted another to open up a 55-49 Defiance lead with 7:49 to play.
Anderson (2-2, 0-1 HCAC) rallied back behind a 9-3 run to knot the score at 58 all, but Wolfrum hit Brown for a trifecta before assisting a Tietje score and canning a triple of his own to reclaim a six-point spread for the Purple and Gold at 66-60 with 3:03 showing on the clock.
Brown would ice the victory from the free throw line over the final minutes, hitting all six of his attempts to turn the Ravens away and secure the 72-67 victory.
DC (3-2, 1-0 HCAC) will face a tough road challenge on Saturday against a defensive minded and improved Rose-Hulman (4-1, 1-0 HCAC) squad. Tip is slated for 3:00 pm.