DEFIANCE, Ohio – Defiance College saw the visiting Polar Bears of Ohio Northern scramble back from a 42-33 halftime deficit to claim a late lead, but the Jackets got a go-ahead layup from Logan Wolfrum and a game-saving block from Anthony Barnum in the closing moments to secure a thrilling, 83-80, win on Tuesday.
The victory was DC's fourth-straight triumph in a home opener and moved the Jackets to 2-2 on the season against a grueling opening four opponents who boast a collective win-loss record of 6-2 against teams other than Defiance this season.
The Jackets took control early on the strength of an extended 30-12 surge midway through the opening half of play. The run gave DC a 13-point spread with just under five minutes to go, but Ohio Northern survived the run and cut the gap to nine at 42-33 heading to the break.
ONU carried the rally over into the second session, opening the final 20 minutes on a 21-10 rally of its own to grab a 54-52 lead with 12:40 showing on the clock.
Anthony Brown stopped that run with a three-point play, before Drew Frizell put the Jackets up by a 69-62 margin with a triple at the 7:59 marker. The Polar Bears would not go quietly however, using one last run to tie the game at 78-78 and going up by an 80-79 count on a Scott Schnelle deuce with 1:29 left in the contest.
Wolfrum would answer by burying a contested layup to put Defiance back in front by a single point, but a miss on a front end of a one-an-one gave the ball back to ONU for one last chance with 17 seconds remaining.
The Bears went back inside to Schnelle for the potential game-winner, but the Jackets were ready and Barnum rejected the turn-around jumper into the corner, where it was corralled by Mason Roth with three ticks to go. Roth would sink both free throws for the 83-80 lead and Kyle Tietje batted away Northern's desperation heave at the horn to seal the thrilling victory for the Yellow Jackets.
DC won on the strength of its talented bench, outscoring ONU by a 43-25 margin off the pine. Brown fueled that count with 25 points on nine-of-11 shooting in his 22 minutes of work off the bench.
Roth also reached double figures for the fourth time in as many games to start his career with 15 and two steals, while Wolfrum netted all 13 of his tallies in the final 20 minutes. Tietje turned in another all-around effort with six points, four boards and five steals.
Defiance (2-2) will take time off for the Thanksgiving Holiday, before returning to the Karl H. Weaner Community Center to host Anderson (2-2) on Wednesday, November 30. The contest will be the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference opener for both squads.