Defiance Outlasts Anderson to Secure NCAA Tournament Berth
Box Score
ANDERSON, IN - The Defiance College men's
basketball team topped Anderson University on Saturday evening,
70-65, to claim the school's second Heartland Collegiate Athletic
Conference Men's Basketball Tournament title. It was
Defiance's third conference tournament championship appearance in
the past four seasons.
After trailing by six with just over sixteen minutes left in the
second half, the No. 3 seed Jackets pulled out an impressive five
point win in front of a packed house at O.C. Lewis Gymnasium to
secure the championship. Defiance, with the win, earns the
conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament set
to begin on Friday.
Defiance (23-5) withstood a red hot shooting Anderson (22-5)
squad that hit 59.3% of their shots in the second half to pull out
the win. The Jackets shot 43.9% on the night, including 8 of
17 from three-point range.
Leading the way for DC was senior forward Nick Sales
(Barberton, Ohio/H.S.) and sophomore guard Anthony
Brown (Glenview, Ill/Glenbrook South). Brown led the
scoring attack with 17 points and five rebounds, while Sales
chipped in 16 points and eight boards on 6 of 11 shooting.
Sales was named the tournament Most Valuable Player after averaging
17.3 points and 7.7 rebounds in the Jackets' three wins.
Joining Brown on the all-tournament team was freshman guard
Logan Wolfrum (Defiance, Ohio/Ayersville).
Wolfrum averaged 15.3 points per game during the tournament
for the Yellow Jackets.
Anderson was represented on the all-tournament team by sophomore
Brock Morrison (Winchester, Ind./H.S.), junior
Ty Riddle (Muncie, Ind./Central),
and sophomore Andrew Bowman (Greenwood,
Ind./Center Grove). Morrison averaged 12.5 points in
two games for AU while Riddle and Bowman scored 16 points each in
the championship game.
Defiance will await its first round opponent in the NCAA
Division III Tournament, while Anderson waits to see if they will
receive an at-large bid into the dance when the brackets are
released Monday morning.
Photo: 2009-10 All-HCAC Tournament Team