The Hoosiers used strong defensive skills to seal a victory in the opening round of the Hoopster preseason tournament.

The second- and third-grade Hoosiers defeated the Yellow Jackets, 22-11, Wednesday night at the East Lawrence Rec Center.

Hoosiers guard Jack Flynn played very tricky defense to steal the ball from the Yellow Jackets. Flynn would sneak up behind his opponents and tap the ball away while they were dribbling. Flynn used his defensive play to benefit his offensive statistics. Flynn led his team in scoring with six points.

Flynn didn’t lead all scorers, however, because the Yellow Jackets have a scoring machine on their team. Yellow Jackets point guard Winston Wiebe routinely drove to the basket with his left hand to score easy lay-ups. Wiebe finished the night with eight of his team’s 11 points.

At halftime the score was 10-8, but the Hoosiers turned up their pressure during the second half.

Daniel Clark, Hoosiers guard, had the poise to dribble along the baseline to beat defenders and finish shots. Clark and Hoosiers forward Logan Shields chipped in with a couple of points each during the second half to help pull away from the Yellow Jackets.

Yellow Jacket Kristain Rawls tries to find an open teammate while Hoosiers Laken Straub, center, and Tanner Pfortmiller try to intercept the pass Tuesday at the East Lawrence Center.

Yellow Jackets guard Brian Tolefree helped Wiebe score during the second half. Tolefree created steals on defense and then dribbled through traffic to set Wiebe up on the offensive end of the court.

At the end of the game, Wiebe’s scoring efforts weren’t enough to lift the Yellow Jackets over the Hoosiers.

The Hoosiers spread the ball around their offense as five different players scored points for the team. Forward Tanner Pfortmiller capped off the Hoosiers 22-11 defeat of the Yellow Jackets with four points.

The Hoosiers continue in the Hoopster preseason tournament tonight at 5:15 p.m. against the Blue Devils at the East Lawrence Rec Center.