LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Defiance College men's basketball team had no answer for the top post tandem in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference on Saturday, as Transylvania's duo of Ethan Spurlin and Brandon Rash combined for 54 points and 24 rebounds in a 75-68 victory over the Yellow Jackets.
Spurlin and Rash took control of the action early, netting the first seven points of the afternoon and helping the Pioneers maintain a 17-10 advantage until three-point makes from Travis Schomaeker and Drew Frizell cut the TU lead to 19-17.
A pair of Logan Wolfrum free throws again brought Defiance to within a pair at 21-19 with 10:06 to go in the opening stanza but the Pioneers would continue to lean on Spurlin and Rash to open up a 35-25 cushion and eventually take a 42-31 lead to the break.
Spurlin and Rash dominated the opening 20 minutes, combining for 29 points and 12 rebounds, while the rest of the Pioneers managed only 13 points and 15 boards.
Defiance tried to counter the attack by sinking five triples in 10 attempts but the interior struggles were too much, as the Jackets were beaten on the glass by a 22-10 margin and connected on only five-of-15 attempts from inside the three-point line.
It would be more of the same to start the second half, with Spurlin scoring the first five points out of the intermission. A Rash jumper would then open up a 52-35 lead for TU with 16:34 to play and the Pioneers would hold a 20-point lead as late as the 11:12 mark.
The Jackets dug in and began to battle back over the final 10 minutes however, closing the game on a 26-13 run. Mason Roth fueled the late surge with seven points and three assists during the stretch and brought DC to within five points on a stick back off of his own missed free throw with 1:49 left in the contest.
After another hoop from Rash pushed the gap back to seven points, Hosie Smith knocked down a pair of free throws to make it a five-point game once again. The Jackets could not get any closer however, as Transylvania held on for the 75-68 win.
The Pioneers (10-3, 5-1 HCAC) shot 52.8 percent from the floor in the victory and pushed their win streak to six-straight games. Spurlin led the way with 26 points and 17 rebounds, while Rash ended with a game-high 28 points to go with seven boards.
Roth's strong second-half showing gave him a team-leading 16 pints to go with five assists to pace Defiance, while Schomaeker ended with 13, Frizell had 12 and Bernard Edwards was the fourth Yellow Jacket to score in double figures with 10 points.
Defiance (7-6, 3-3 HCAC) will return to the Karl H. Weaner Community Center in search of a bounce-back performance against Manchester, when it hosts the Spartans on Wednesday, January 9 at 7:30 pm.