DEFIANCE, Ohio – The Earlham College men's basketball team picked up its first conference win of the season with a 66-63 battle with Defiance College on Wednesday evening. 

The Quakers improved to 4-8 (1-5 HCAC) while the Yellow Jackets fell to 5-9 (3-4 HCAC).

Tommy Makabu led the Quakers with a career-high 25 points, shooting 11-of-14 in the contest. Chase Younts also had a career evening with 19 points and 9-for-11 from the floor. Younts also recorded a game-high 11 rebounds on the evening. 

After trailing 5-0 early in the contest, The Quakers recovered to take an 8-7 lead by the 16:04 mark. The largest lead of the half was 30-22 in favor of the home squad with just over five minutes remaining in the half. 

Over the final five minutes, Earlham went on an 11-0 run and led 33-30 going into the break. 

The Quakers continued with momentum into the second frame, extending their lead with a 7-3 run over the opening three minutes. 

The Yellow Jackets brought the lead down to two points with 15:06 remaining, but the Quakers retaliated with a 5-0 run and held on tightly to the lead. 

The lead extended to as many as nine points in the half, but Defiance closed back in towards the end of the contest. The only score in the final minute of play was a jumper from Defiance with 44 seconds left. 

The season continues for Earlham with Manchester University on Saturday. The men's team will play at 3 pm with the women's squad starting the day off at 1 pm. The Quakers will then play a rescheduled match at Bluffton University on Monday evening. Tip-off is slated for 7 pm.