The Defiance College men’s basketball team fell at Bluffton University on Wednesday night, 66-89.
Curt Croy led the Yellow Jackets with 20 points on 8-of-17 shooting with four three-pointers. C.J. Johnson and Matt Muratori added 16 and 13 points, apiece, while no other Jacket scored above four. Eric Sweet had a big night for the Beaver with game-highs of 30 points and 19 rebounds.
Sweet’s presence down-low caused a 44-29 discrepancy in rebounding in favor of BU, while DC made just 9-of-17 free-throw attempts with BU hitting 26-of 34. Scott Bergman and Michael Anthony each added 22 points to the Beaver’s total.
The Jacket shooting went south in the final stanza. After 17-29 first-half shooting, DC managed just 28% from the floor in the final period, while Bluffton stayed near 50% all game. The lead changed hands 14 times, but would stay out of DC’s favor after an Anthony three-pointer at the 17:50 mark of the second, just after Matt Laudick had given DC a two-point lead on two free throws.
Croy helped the Jackets back into the final tie of the game when the junior sank a jumper with 16 minutes remaining. The Beavers, however, countered with a 16-4 run over the next seven minutes to put the game out of reach.
The Jackets fall to 9-14 on the year with a 3-10 in the HCAC. DC will next host Transylvania on Saturday. Tip off is slated for 3:00 p.m.