DEFIANCE, Ohio – Ryan Hicks netted a career-high 27 points and Defiance put 48 points on the board in the final 20 minutes of Tuesday's Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Quarterfinal clash with Franklin, as the Jackets topped the Grizzlies by an 85-66 count.
Defiance got out of the gates slowly in front of a large Karl H. Weaner Community Center crowd, missing seven of its first nine shots from the field and all four of its three-point tries. Franklin countered by sinking seven-of-11 shots to open up an 18-8 lead.
The Grizzlies continued to keep the Jackets on their heels throughout much of the opening stanza, holding a 30-22 lead with 5:45 left in the half, before treys from Logan Wolfrum and Travis Schomaeker finally ignited the DC attack and narrowed the gap to 30-28.
The Jackets would finally draw even on six-straight points from Bernard Edwards, before Hicks sank the second three-point shot of his collegiate career on DC's final possession of the half to send the Purple and Gold to the break with a 37-34 advantage.
Franklin would open the second half hot once again, scoring on each of its first four touches to reclaim a 41-39 lead, but the Defiance offense kept pace and a three from Drew Frizell flipped the lead back to the Jackets at 42-41.
Defiance would never trail from that point on and outscored the Grizzlies by a 28-13 clip over the final 8:34 of the game to pull away.
Hicks did most of that damage, knocking down a jumper and a pair of free throws on consecutive trips to push Defiance to a 61-53 lead with 7:23 left and another Frizell triple opened up a double-digit lead for the Jackets at 64-53.
Hicks followed with another bucket to cap a 9-0 spurt, before another 8-1 stretch put the game out of reach at 74-57 in favor of DC by the 4:09 mark.
Defiance never let FC closer than 14 the rest of the way, rolling to the 19-point postseason victory over the visiting Grizzlies.
Hicks proved to be too much for Franklin to handle, sinking 11-of-13 shots from the floor and leading five Yellow Jackets in double-digits with a career-high 27 points to go with nine rebounds, two blocks and a pair of steals.
Wolfrum followed with 16 points, eight boards and four helpers, while Mason Roth had 15 points, six rebounds and two thefts on the night. Edwards and Frizell also cracked double figures, with 10 points each.
While DC posted 48 points on 56.0-percent shooting in the second half, it was a strong defensive showing that turned the game around in the final 20 minutes. Defiance limited Franklin to 38.5-percent shooting after the break and beat FC on the glass by a 20-10 margin in the second half.
The win moved Defiance to 14-9 all-time in the HCAC Tournament and kept the Jackets unblemished in five tries against the Grizzlies in the opening round.
Defiance (16-10) will now turn its focus towards No. 23 and top-seeded Rose-Hulman (22-3), as the two teams will hook up in the HCAC Tournament Semifinals in Terre Haute, Ind., on Friday at 8:00 pm.
The winner of Friday's meeting will play either Hanover (17-8) or Transylvania (20-6) on Saturday at 7:00 pm with the HCAC Tournament Championship and the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Division III National Tournament up for grabs.