The DC Yellow Jackets won a thriller in the first round of the Purple & Gold Financial Tournament at the Karl H. Weaner Center on Friday night.
Matt Voland battled his way to 24 points to lead Defiance, while Brett Hammons led the squad in rebounding with eight and also scored 17 points. Curt Croy was next on the list with 15 points, a game-high nine assists and five boards. DC benefited from 75% shooting from the line (15-20), while the Crusaders shot just 55% from the stripe (12-22).
Noel Emenhiser, Madonna’s All-American forward, hit for 22 points and six rebounds, but seemed to tire down the stretch due to constant hounding by DC’s Mike Lentz and Ryan Farmer. The Jackets outrebounded the Crusdaders 47-43 and scored the last four points of the game on Croy free throw’s after the score was tied for the sixth time on two charity shots by MU’s Derrick Mudri.
Voland was the difference as the game came to crunch time, the senior from Columbus, Ohio scored 19 of his 24 points in the second stanza and ended the night by hitting 10-of-13 from the free-throw line. Voland also led the Jackets in steals as DC swiped a total of 11 and forced Madonna into 13 turnovers.
The visitors shot out to a 17-6 lead out of the gate, but an immediate 13-3 run tied the game at 19 when Hammons hit a three off a Jeremey Fruhwirth assist. Freshman Trent Meyer ended the game with nine points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals, while fellow freshmen C.J. Johnson, Matt Muratori, and Lentz made key plays at both ends versus the Crusaders.
Junior Phil Blasko had a game-high four blocks on the night to go along with four points, and four boards.
The Jackets improve to 5-1 on the year and advance to the tournament championship tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. when they will face University of Michigan- Dearborn, who defeated Olivet College, 59-55 in the first game. The consolation game between Olivet and Madonna is slated for 5:00 p.m.
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