DEFIANCE, Ohio – After an 11-day layoff for finals week, it was the Bulldogs who looked like they were a bit rusty on Wednesday night (Dec. 15) with a 67-51 loss at Defiance College falling to 3-4 overall this season and snapping a two-game win streak. Adrian fell to 0-3 on the road this season as the Jackets had a big second half to pull away from the Bulldogs.
Adrian trailed 29-27 at halftime with seven ties and five lead changes in the first half. The last 20 minutes were all Defiance as they started the half with a 10-0 run in a span of 2:16. Leroy Lewis canned a triple and Kevin Tietje got a steal and fast-break layup in the first 1:03. Logan Wolfrum nailed a three-pointer and Tietje made a jumper to give the Jackets a 39-27 lead at the 17:44 mark.
Sean Gallant hit a three-pointer to end the run and the Bulldogs kept the deficit to nine on three different occasions up until the 14:23 mark.
The Jackets built their lead to 14 points on three different occasions and then pushed it to 16 at 58-42 with 6:13 left on a Wolfrum fast-break layup. Adrian closed it to 12 at 61-49 with 2:39 to go on a three-pointer by
Wesley Reed, but that was the closest it would be for the rest of the game.
Adrian was hurt by a hot long-range game by Defiance who finished 7-of-13 from the arc. The Jackets were also lethal from the free throw line going 18-of-21 (.857). The scoring for the Bulldogs came from Ray Reed with a team-high nine points, which was four points higher than his season average. Reed was 4-of-8 from the floor and grabbed four rebounds. Adrian had a good shooting first half going 12-of-26 (.462), however in the second half they shot just 25 percent (8-of-32). The Bulldogs made 5-of-20 from the arc and just 6-of-12 from the line.
Dennis Mason scored seven points and grabbed six boards off the bench in 16 minutes. It was his first action since November 27 against Michigan-Dearborn.
