The Defiance College Yellow Jackets, led by C.J. Johnson’s 19 points and six rebounds, defeated Benedictine University, 57-54, to win the Bracket #2 championship game of the Adidas/ Las Vegas Shootout on the campus of UNLV.
Johnson hit two free throws and grabbed two defensive rebounds in the final minute of play to preserve the win for the Jackets. Benedictine, led by Tim Swanson’s 14 points, had cut the DC lead to one, 55-54 on two free throws going into the closing minutes. Curt Croy followed his tremendous Wednesday performance with an 11-point day in the win over the Eagles.
Bryan Post and Anthony Jackson each had four assists, while Post added seven points and seven rebounds to the DC effort. Matt Muratori and Ryan Carthage chipped in six points apiece.
The Jackets trailed at the half, 26-28, after getting off to another fast start. Croy hit a three to make the score 13-2 four minutes into the game. Benedictine fought back to tie the game at 20-20 on a Swanson score and went into the break with the two-point advantage.
A see-saw second-half affair saw DC take their largest lead of six points, 52-46, on two Jackson free throws with five minutes left. Johnson gave the Jackets a five-point lead, 55-50, on an old-fashioned three-point play off one of Post’s assists and followed that up with his late-game moxie to move the Jackets to 7-3 on the year.
Defiance shot 46% from the floor, 32% from the arc and 90% (9-of-10) from the line.
The Yellow Jackets will next host Transylvania University on Wednesday, January 4 when they open Heartland Conference play at 7:30 p.m. against the pre-season conference favorite.
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