Roth, Tietje, and Spinks Named HCAC Players of the Week

GREENWOOD, IND.  --  Three Defiance College winter athletes were named this week's Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Players of the Week.  Senior guard Mason Roth (McComb) was the men's basketball player of the week, sophomore forward Kelsey Tietje (Deshler/Patrick Henry) was the women's player of the week and freshman Darius Spinks (Washington, Pa./Washington) was the men's track & field runner of the week.

Roth led the Jackets to a 1-1 record during the week. He equaled his career-high with 27 points, seven assists, and five rebounds in a 101-88 win against Anderson (Ind.) University on Wednesday (Feb. 4). Roth followed that performance with 24 points, seven rebounds, and two assists in a 68-61 loss at Mount St. Joseph University on Saturday (Feb. 7). For the week, Roth averaged 25.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game, while shooting 56.3 percent (18-of-32) from the floor. Defiance (15-6, 10-4 HCAC) will travel to Earlham (Ind.) College on Wednesday (Feb. 11) and return home to face Transylvania (Ky.) University on Saturday (Feb. 14).

Tietje helped the Jackets move closer to a HCAC tourney bid with a 2-0 mark last week and was tabbed player of the week for the third time this season. The sophomore center scored a career-high and was three points shy of the HCAC single-game scoring record with 37 points and 17 rebounds in a 65-61 win at Mount St. Joseph University Saturday (Jan. 7). Earlier in the week, Tietje scored 16 points with 10 rebounds as DC erased a 10-point halftime deficit to beat Anderson (Ind.) University, 64-58, on the road. For the week, the sophomore averaged 26.5 points, 13.5 rebounds, and 4.0 blocks per game. Defiance (9-12, 8-6 HCAC) will play host to Earlham (Ind.) College on Wednesday and Transylvania (Ky.) University on Saturday.

Spinks broke school records in two events at the Ohio Northern Invitational Saturday. The freshman posted a time of 6.94 seconds in the 60-meter dash, which stands as the top mark in the HCAC and the seventh best mark in all of NCAA Division III this season. Spinks also finished second in the 200-meter dash with a HCAC-best time of 22.72 seconds.  He also jumped the distance of 22' 00.25" in the long jump event to finish fourth overall.  The Yellow Jacket Indoor Track & Field Teams will return to action on Friday, Feb. 13 when they host the Defiance Open. The meet is scheduled to begin at 4:00 p.m.