The Defiance College Yellow Jackets, led by Curt Croy’s 26 points and seven three-pointers, outlasted the Blazers of Hood College in the first round of the Adidas Las Vegas Shootout on the campus of UNLV.
While Croy led the way in scoring, it was the Jacket defense that held Hood to 35% shooting from the floor, 23% from beyond the arc, and forced 18 turnovers. Bryan Post and Anthony Pettaway each grabbed seven rebounds, five apiece on the defensive end. C.J. Johnson ran the DC offense with six assists, while Anthony Jackson chipped in nine points.
The Jackets jumped out to a 15-8 lead at the 14:30 mark of the first half when Johnson nailed a triple off a Croy assist. Later, Pettaway hit Croy for a three-pointer, giving Defiance a 26-14 lead with under seven minutes remaining in the first period. However, four-straight Jacket turnovers spurred an 11-0 run by the Blazers to end the half and left DC with a 26-25 halftime advantage.
Hood eventually took a 34-33 lead out of the break on a three-pointer and had their final lead of the game, 48-46, at the 7:10 mark after a jumper by Santo Provenzano. Croy hit a triple to make the count 49-48 and then, with the score tied at 51 with 30-second remaining, connected from long range as the shot clock expired to give Defiance their sixth win of the season.
The Jackets are now 6-3 overall (0-0 HCAC) and will next face the winner of the Benedictine- Hartwick game in the tournament’s championship game at 1:00 p.m. (PST) tomorrow.
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