By BRUCE HEFFLINGER

hefflinger@crescent-news.com

BRYAN -- Being a role player can be the most difficult thing to do on a basketball team. But when the job is done well the results can be very rewarding.

That was the case for Defiance on Saturday evening.

The senior trio of Craig Gutman, Ron Beverly and Curtis Parsons all played their role to perfection in leading the Bulldogs past Bryan, 62-51.

The trio, which had scored a combined 21 points in the first three games of the season, totaled 35 points in the victory.

"We ask Alex Keel to carry the load on offense but to see others step up and score with him was great," said DHS coach Kirk Lehman after his squad evened its record at 2-2 on the season.

First it was Parsons that came up big for the Bulldogs. The 6-3 sharpshooter hit a trio of 3-pointers in helping DHS to a 27-11 halftime advantage, including nothing but net from the left wing to close out the half on a pass from Gutman.

"That was huge," Lehman said of the play of Parsons, who the DHS coach counts on to contribute from the perimeter. "He's worked extremely hard on his shot. He's struggled with it a little but he's worked after practice and tonight he hit three big 3s. That helped open things up inside for the big guys."

Gutman, who had just three points on the season entering the game and was scoreless at halftime, scored seven points in a span of 2:18 early in the third quarter, the final points coming on a 3-ball from the right wing giving Defiance its biggest lead of the game at 37-19 with 5:00 to play in the stanza.

"Coach talked to me about when I was open to take the ball to the basket and kicking it out," explained the 5-8 senior, who's known mostly for his hustle and defensive ability. "I hit two layups and that got my confidence going. Then the 3-pointer ... I never felt it like that."

Not to be outdone was Beverly, who like Parsons comes off the bench for the Bulldogs. The 6-1 senior hit a pair of baskets late in the first half and, after Bryan had trimmed an 18-point lead to nine, scored three straight points in the closing minutes of the third quarter to help DHS maintain a 10-point edge entering the final eight minutes of play.

"My role is to come in, give us an offensive spark and some rebounds and go from there," Beverly noted. "I feel good in that role. Any way I can help the team."

Still, the hosts hung tough and when Andy Shaffer and Matt Wisler sandwiched 3-pointers around two foul shots by Beverly, the Golden Bears were within 53-46 with 1:27 to play, the closest Bryan had been since the first quarter.

"We never quit," said Bryan coach Doug Billman, whose squad fell to 1-4. "We came out the second half with more energy. Knocking down shots helps that."

After two missed free throws by the Bulldogs, Wisler connected on another trey and suddenly Bryan was down just 53-49 with one minute remaining.

"They hit some great shots," Lehman said of Bryan, which was 13-of-22 from the field in the second half after connecting on but 5-of-20 in the first two quarters. "We might have slacked a little on defense but give them credit, they stepped up and hit some big shots when they were behind."

But Defiance was not about to fold.

The Bulldogs were good on 7-of-8 from the foul line in the final minute, including two each from Alex Nofziger, Beverly and Gutman to hold on for the win.

"We got some good looks at the basket in the second half and showed good patience," noted Lehman. "Our offense was as good as it's been this season."

DHS hit an astounding 69 percent from the field, connecting on 10-of-16 in the first two quarters and 8-of-10 after that.

"I'm not sure we can play much better than we did in the first half, we played really, really well," Lehman said. "We had great ball movement and great player movement."

Meanwhile, the Bears struggled at the outset again.

"Our starts every game in the first and second quarter have not been great," noted Billman, whose team played without starting guard Danny Gallagher who was ill. "We've tried numerous things but we're still searching, obviously."

Shaffer had 15 points to lead Bryan, all coming in the second half, while Matt Jones added 14 points, 10 in the last two quarters.

Keel and Gutman tied for game-high honors with 15 apiece while Beverly chipped in 11.

"Craig and Ron both played solid," Lehman said. "Craig had one of those night where he hit shots, drove to the basket well and played good defense.

"Ron came in and scored inside. He's continued to get better and better each night out."

It's all about filling their roles.

In the junior varsity game, Bryan was a 34-33 winner to move to 4-1 while dropping Defiance to 2-2. James Steel tallied 13 points and Zach North, who hit a 17-foot jumper for the winning points with nine seconds left, added 12. Doug Herrett led the Bulldogs with nine points.

DHS opens Western Buckeye League play on Tuesday at Ottawa-Glandorf in a game that was postponed from Friday night. Bryan is back in action Dec. 29-30 at the Celina Invitational.

BOX SCORE

DEFIANCE (62) - T. Keel 3; Nofziger 7; A. Keel 15; Gutman 15; Hammersmith 2; Stapleton 0; Parsons 9; Spitnale 0; Beverly 11. Totals 18-26 22-31 62.

BRYAN (51) - Shaffer 15; Alabata 1; Hollabaugh 8; Jones 14; Costanzo 4; Wisler 9; Turnbull 0; Osborn 0. Totals 18-42 9-13 51.

Three-point goals: Defiance - Parsons 3, Gutman. Bryan - Shaffer 3, Wisler 3. Rebounds: Defiance 16 (T. Keel 5), Bryan 24 (Turnbull 7). Turnovers: Defiance 15, Bryan 15.

Defiance 15 12 15 20 - 62

Bryan 7 4 21 19 - 51

Reserves: Bryan, 34-22.