VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
DEFIANCE, Ohio – One night after cruising to a 28-point win in the opening round of the 2012 Purple and Gold Tournament, Defiance hooked up with No. 12 Adrian for a thrilling championship game that featured 12 ties and 14 lead changes, before the visiting Bulldogs took the 70-69 win in overtime.
The Yellow Jackets went toe to toe with the undefeated and highly ranked AC squad, matching one of the nation's top defensive units until a contested jumper in the paint with 1.3 seconds left finally ended DC's bid at its 22nd Purple and Gold Tournament Championship and snapped a 17 game home winning streak for Defiance in non-conference affairs.
The last second bucket capped a wild final 37 seconds of the overtime period, after a steal from Logan Wolfrum was followed by a pair of free throws from Mason Roth to bring Defiance within one point. Drew Frizell then stole the ensuing in-bounds pass and sank a jumper to put DC in front by a 67-66 margin with 32 seconds left on the clock.
After Adrian countered with 21 ticks remaining on a hoop from Brandon Romain, Wolfrum put the Jackets back on top by posting up and banking in his 23rd and 24th points of the contest to reclaim a 69-68 advantage with 10 seconds to play.
The Bulldogs would turn to Romain once again, but his attempt was swatted out of bounds by Ryan Hicks with 2.7 showing on the clock. That set the stage for the game-winner, as AC's Cody Barnes inbounded the ball to a streaking Romain, who elevated over a pair of Yellow Jackets in the key and knocked down the decisive hoop with 1.3 ticks left in the contest.
Defiance tried to pull away early from Adrian early in the contest, using an 8-2 spurt to open a 17-11 lead at the 9:41 mark of the opening half. The Bulldogs would rally back however, with a 14-6 run of its own, before a pair of baskets from Hicks in the closing 80 seconds of the opening stanza sent DC to the break with a 27-25 lead.
Adrian then opened the second half with a streak of its own, using a 20-9 stretch out of the break to open up a 45-36 lead over Defiance, but the Jackets would have an answer with five-straight points from Wolfrum and another bucket from Hicks to draw within two.
Despite the 7-0 charge, AC held the lead and pushed the spread back to as many as seven on two occasions, with the final coming in the form of a 58-51 cushion with 3:58 to play.
The Jackets closed regulation on an 8-1 spurt to force the overtime period however, as Wolfrum sank four free throws and Roth added another to set up a game-tying triple from Frizell with 20 seconds to play. Hicks then forced the extra session with a block on AC's last-second attempt from the top of the arc.
Adrian moved to 11-0 for the first time in its program history with the win, while DC saw its eight-game winning streak in the Purple and Gold Tournament and its nine-game winning streak inside the Hive come to an end with its first loss in four home games against a top-25 program during the Brumett era.
Wolfrum capped his historic night with a game-high 24 points, while also leading all players with six assists and adding seven rebounds, two blocks and one steal. The Ayersville High product became the ninth player overall and the fourth in DC's NCAA Division III era to reach 1,500 points on his first hoop of the contest at the 14:07 mark of the first period.
Hicks ended with 18 points, eight rebounds and the two critical blocks in the closing seconds of regulation and overtime, while Frizell had 13 points and Roth chipped in nine points, five helpers and five boards.
Wolfrum and Hicks were each named to the Purple and Gold All-Tournament Team, joining Mount Union's Nate Jacubec and Adrian's Sean Gallant on the list. Adrian's Eric Lewis claimed the tournament's Most Valuable Player honor, while Frizell was awarded the Gerry Boomer Sportsmanship Award.
Defiance (6-5, 2-2 HCAC) will be back in action on Wednesday, when it welcomes Bluffton (4-7, 0-4 HCAC) at 8:00 pm for the 189th all-time meeting on the planks with the long-time rival.