Men's Basketball holds off Yellow Jackets to split season series

(Rochester Hills, MI) - The Rochester Christian Warriors men's basketball team was out for revenge on Wednesday evening against the Defiance Yellow Jackets, as DC had won the previous matchup by two points on December 30. The Warriors were able to rebound here at the Garth Pleasant Arena as they would knock down crucial free throws over the final minutes to claim the 79-75 victory. 

RCU improves to 13-6 overall on the year, while being 8-5 in conference play. 

FIRST HALF

The back-and-forth battle began right away with both teams scoring on their first possession, with Tyler Allen hitting a jumper for the first RCU points. The teams continued to trade points with DC eventually being able to get to a 15-10 lead. Linden Holder and James Fisher would score the next eight points as RCU held an 18-17 lead at the under-10 timeout. 

Mason Parker and Tyler Allen hit a pair of free throws each, coming out of the timeout, but the Yellow Jackets would respond following each bucket. Both teams would score nine points over the final 7:58 to make it a 31-31 draw at the half. 

SECOND HALF

Eight of the first 12 points would come from Dustin Farrow (six points) and Linden Holder. The Warriors would go on a 15-9 run, opening the game up with a seven-point lead, with Holder and James Fisher each earning a couple of buckets. 

DC responded right out of the media timeout with a 7-2 run to pull to within a point. Dustin Farrow, Tyler Allen, and Darnell Turner Jr. would each sink two free throws over the next couple of minutes to keep the slight RCU lead. The Warriors pushed the lead back to six points with scores from Allen and James Fisher. The Yellow Jackets would hit a couple of three's over the final minutes to make the game interesting, but Linden Holder was able to hit seven of his eight free throws to keep DC at an arm's length. 

TOP PERFORMERS

Four of the Warriors' starters tallied double-figures on the evening, led by Linden Holder with 20, while James Fisher, Tyler Allen, and Dustin Farrow had 17, 16, and 11 points, respectively. Holder would lead the team with four assists on the night. 

The rebounding effort would be headed by James Fisher with eight, while Tyler Allen was behind him with six. Fisher tallied a trio of blocks on the evening, while Darnell Turner Jr., Linden Holder, and Allen each had two steals. 

UP NEXT

The Warriors will now head to #13 Indiana Tech for a showdown on Saturday, January 24 at 3 PM.