By BRUCE HEFFLINGER

hefflinger@crescent-news.com

A terrible start proved too much to overcome for Defiance on Saturday night as highly-regarded Sylvania Southview knocked off the Bulldogs, 60-50.

DHS turned the ball over on its first four possessions against the full-court pressure defense of the Cougars and trailed 14-2 at the 3:27 mark of the stanza.

With three more turnovers to open the second quarter, giving Defiance nine through the first nine minutes of action, and it appeared a route was on hand.

"We didn't get much movement and we didn't swing it from side to side quick enough," DHS coach Kirk Lehman said of his team's difficulties with the Southview press. "When we did move quick enough we didn't attack the gaps. Part of it's my fault, I should have brought the big guys up more."

The Cougars (3-1) took their biggest lead of the game at 22-6 when Bernard Pinckney hit one foul shot at the 6:24 mark of the second quarter. But foul troubles for Southview along with strong play off the bench by the Bulldogs (1-2) helped close the gap.

A three-point play by Ron Beverly, an elbow jumper by Eric Stapleton and a post move by Alex Keel pulled Defiance within 27-18.

Beverly added two more baskets late in the half, but a pair of free throws in the final second of the quarter gave Southview a 32-24 advantage at the break.

"Foul trouble got us," Southview coach Marc Jump said of losing the big lead. "We had to bail out of the press in the second quarter and they did better on the boards."

DHS outrebounded the visitors 13-4 in the second quarter, including eight by Stapleton. The 6-8 sophomore finished with 10 rebounds along with four blocked shots.

"He gave us some great minutes for a sophomore," Lehman said. "We've been looking for spots to play him but we faced two teams that were perimeter-oriented and we couldn't get him a lot of minutes. We thought this was a good fit for him.

"He looked very comfortable in his movements. Ten rebounds against their athletes is commendable."

So was the DHS comeback which continued in the third quarter. Eight points in the period by Keel, the last on two free throws with 1:45 left, pulled the Bulldogs to their closest deficit at 40-36.

A Stapleton turnaround jumper and a Taylor Keel drive down the lane capped a period that saw Defiance down just 44-40 with eight minutes remaining.

The Bulldogs stayed within range at 50-46 when Alex Keel scored four straight points, including a pair at the line with 4:53 to play. But three buckets inside by Pinckney, the last two on nice feeds from Tim Hausfeld, helped Southview pull away down the stretch.

"It could have been a case of using too much energy to get back into it," Lehman explained. "We got some good looks, and the crowd gave us a boost, but we just couldn't get it to two or three points. You've got to be perfect when you start the way we did."

Jump was happy with the way his team played when the Bulldogs threatened.

"I thought our kids responded. We looked like a group of kids that have been there already," noted Jump, whose team featured a number of players from the Division II state championship football team.

One of which was Shaun Joplin, who scored a team-high 17 points, including four monster dunks, along with 10 rebounds. Hausfeld, a signee with West Liberty State, and Pinkney each contributed 14 points.

Alex Keel led all scorers with 23 points for the Bulldogs.

"He was solid this weekend," Lehman said of his 6-6 senior. "He wanted the ball. It was physical but he handled himself well."

The loss dropped the Bulldogs to 1-2 on the season with a road game at O-G on Friday.

"They played with a lot of heart and emotion," Jump said of the Bulldogs. "Defiance did everything they could do."

Except come out of the gates.

"We dug too deep a hole against a pretty good team," Lehman said. "Our mistakes turned into baskets."

The Defiance junior varsity moved to 2-1 with a 57-45 win in the opener. Doug Herrett scored 14 points and Josh Scott 11 to lead a balanced attack for the Bulldogs.

BOX SCORE

SYLVANIA SOUTHVIEW (60) - Hausfeld 14; Borcherdt 8; Pinckney 14; Hall 0; Joplin 17; Gant 2; O'Relly 2; Stichter 1; Tropp 2; Siefer 0. Totals 21-45 14-22 60.

DEFIANCE (50) - T. Keel 6; Nofziger 3; A. Keel 23; Gutman 1; Hammersmith 2; Spitnale 0; Parsons 2; Kime 0; Stapleton 6; Beverly 7. Totals 18-48 12-19 50.

Three-point goals: Southview - Hausfeld 2, Borcherdt, Joplin. Rebounds: Southview 29 (Joplin 10), Defiance 31 (Stapleton 10). Turnovers: Southview 16, Defiance 16.

Southview 19 13 12 16 - 60

Defiance 6 18 16 10 - 50

Reserves: Defiance, 57-45.