DEFIANCE, Ohio - The Defiance College Yellow Jackets defeated Earlham College Wednesday night 56-41 to give head coach Kyle Brumett his 100th career victory at the helm of the Purple and Gold.
With the victory, Brumett becomes the fourth coach in the program's history to reach the milestone.
The Yellow Jackets (17-5, 12-3 HCAC) struggled early against Earlham (4-18, 3-12 HCAC), falling behind 7-1 through the first five minutes. However, Defiance bounced back in a big way, sinking three pointers on five consecutive trips down the court to take a 16-12 lead that it never relinquished.
Bernard Edwards hit the first three pointer for DC. Then, Travis Schomaeker, who came off of a career night the last time out, hit three of the next four three pointers, to pull DC back from its early deficit.
Noah Reed hit the other three at 13:36, giving DC a 10-9 lead that it never let go of.
The Yellow Jackets ended up connecting on 10 attempts from behind the arch in the game. Schomaeker led the team with four, accounting for all 12 of his points. Edwards had three from long range, attributing for a large chunk of his team-high 13 points.
Reed had the other three from behind the arch, accounting for all nine of his points.
Defiance made quick passes throughout the game, creating a lot of open looks. DC assisted 16 of the Yellow Jackets' 20 baskets from the field in the game.
The Yellow Jackets were also strong on the defensive side of the ball, holding Earlham to 37 percent shooting and a season low for an opponent with 41 points.
Kent Tietje led the way for Defiance on the boards, coming off the bench to grab a career-high nine rebounds in 15 minutes. Five of Tietje's boards were on the offensive end, where the Yellow Jackets out-rebounded Earlham 17-9. Each team finished with 19 defensive rebounds.
Defiance protected the ball well in the game, turning over the ball just five times, a season low for the Purple and Gold. The Yellow Jackets also had eight steals in the game, including four from Schomaeker and three more from Mason Roth.
Roth followed up DC's hot run of five-straight threes with five points of his own on a pair of fast break lay ups and a free-throw shot for a three-point play. Roth was the third player for DC in double figures, scoring 11 in the game.
Tietje came off the bench to score six points and Jordan Fair also added a basket. Ryan Hicks accounted for the other three points for Defiance on the night, sinking a free throw for the first point of the game and adding a jumper in the second half.
Defiance will now set its sights on a trip to Transylvania Saturday, the final road test of the regular season. The Yellow Jackets will have a chance to secure a top-two spot in the conference standings and earn a first-round bye in the HCAC Tournament.