January 16, 2002

It was the tale of two halves Wednesday night in Defiance as Bluffton College saw a 14-point lead drift away en route to a 100-94 loss to Defiance College.

Bluffton shot 56% from the floor in the first half and hit nine 3-pointers to take a 14 point lead with 3:49 left before halftime. Defiance shot just 39% in the first half but scored the final nine points before halftime as Bluffton settled for a 49-44 lead at the intermission.

Defiance grabbed the lead early in the second half but Bluffton battled back to take an eight point lead at 73-65 with 8:07 left to play. Bluffton continued to drain free throws, but Defiance was knocking down jumpers at the same time to take a five-point lead with two minutes left in the game, and the Yellow Jackets didn't lead by less than four points the rest of the game.

Bluffton was held to a 42% shooting clip in the second half, while Defiance shot 53% to take their come-from-behind victory.

Bluffton converted on 25-of-30 free throws in the second half, but was 0-5 from 3-point range and hit just four field goals in the final nine minutes of the game.

BC junior Mike Leimeister tied a career-high with 30 points in the game. Senior Rod Overmyer added 19 and junior Derek DeNero notched his fifth double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 boards. He was 10-for-10 from the free throw line.

Sophomore Michael Kingsley scored his first points in a BC uniform as he drilled all three of his 3-point attempts in the game and finished with nine points and four assists.

Bluffton controlled the rebounding department, taking a 46-33 advantage over the Yellow Jackets on the boards, but the Beavers committed a season-high 29 turnovers, which led to 30 Defiance points.

All five Defiance starters scored in double figures, led by Jeremy Miklovic's 21 points.

Bluffton (7-10, 0-7 HCAC) will travel to Hanover College on Saturday for a 3:00 game that can be heard live over the radio or internet from WDOH 107.1 FM (www.wdoh.com).