Sales Garners HCAC Weekly Honors

GREENWOOD, Ind. – Nick Sales closed out his regular season in style, by logging a pair of double-double performances and netting 23.0 points and 14.0 rebounds a night, on his way to being named the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference player of the week. [HCAC Release]

Along with his 23.0 points and 14.0 rebounds per contest, Sales shot the ball at a 59.3-percent clip from the field and also chipped in 2.0 assists and 1.0 blocks per outing. The pair of double-doubles pushed the number of times Sales has accomplished the feat to five times in his last six games.

Sales opened the week by nearly single-handedly keeping Defiance close in a 59-57 loss to the rival Bluffton squad. The junior forward poured in a game-high 24 points on eight-of-13 shooting and pulled down 10 boards to go with a trio of assists.

Sales then helped Defiance rebound nicely on Saturday with a 22-point, 18-rebound performance to fuel DC's, 92-89, win at Franklin. The Barberton, Ohio, native connected on eight-of-14 shots from the field, while his career-high 18 boards sparked the Jackets' 19-rebound advantage over the Grizzlies.

Sales is currently second on the squad with 16.2 points and 8.7 rebounds per night and tops the team with a 63.9-percent clip from the field. Sales has been especially tough over the second half of the season, netting 18.1 points and 9.6 rebounds a night over his last 16 contests.

The HCAC Player-of-the-Week honor is the second for the probable All-HCAC forward and marks the third-such award for the Defiance College men's basketball program this season.

Sales and the Jackets (17-8) will look to continue their 2008-2009 campaign on Tuesday night when they host Hanover College (9-15) at 7:30 pm in the first round of the HCAC Tournament.