DC Men Bounce Transy, Clinch Spot in HCAC Tournament

DEFIANCE, Ohio – Defiance College outlasted Transylvania, 71-64, on Saturday inside the Karl H. Weaner Community Center to punch its ticket to the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament with three games left to play in the regular season.

Along with sealing a spot in the postseason, the Yellow Jackets moved into third place in the conference standings and reached the 17-win plateau for the fourth-straight year. With a 17-5 record to start the 2009-2010 campaign, DC has now posted a 71-31 record over the past four seasons for a crisp .696 winning percentage during that span.

Defiance turned to the experience of senior Nick Sales for a boost in the key victory. Sales responded with 15 points, seven rebounds and a career-high seven assists, while moving into 21st in DC history with 1,250 career points and eclipsing Anthony Pettaway (2005-2009) for sixth in program history with 770 career boards. The Barberton, Ohio, native is now just 30 rebounds shy of becoming the fifth player in DC history to reach 1,200 points and 800 caroms in a career.

While Sales took another step towards cementing his status as one of the program's all-time greats, freshman Logan Wolfrum showcased his promise as a future star for the Purple and Gold by leading all players with 22 points and four steals. The performance was Wolfrum's third 20-point game of his young collegiate career.

It was not all Sales and Wolfrum however, as senior Nate Conley slowed the Pioneers' inside game and equaled season highs with six points and five rebounds. Kyle Tietje matched Conley with six points and five boards, while Anthony Brown went six-of-six from the charity stripe and ended with eight points.

Brown's accurate shooting was a trend for Defiance, which sank 24-of-29 attempts from the free throw line and connected on 11-of-18 field goals in the second half, en route to shooting 56.8 percent for the game.

Despite the strong showing from the Jackets, Transylvania hung tough in the hostile environment and rallied from a 30-27 halftime deficit to claim a 41-40 lead at the 12:52 mark of the final stanza.

Heath Armstrong immediately pushed the Jackets back in front with his only bucket of the day, sinking a trey from the wing, before Wolfrum scored DC's next four field goals to open up a 51-43 gap with 10:11 left to play. Wolfrum would later sink a pair of free throws to give Defiance its largest lead of the afternoon at 57-48 with just over eight minutes remaining.

The Pioneers would have one final push however, as they closed to within 61-59 before Sales and Conley slammed the door with six-straight points. The rally started with Sales finding Conley for layups on consecutive touches, before Sales sank two free throws to extend DC's cushion back to a comfortable eight-point spread with 2:34 showing on the clock. The 67-59 lead would hold up, as Defiance finished off the 71-64 HCAC victory over Transylvania (12-10, 8-5 HCAC).

Defiance (17-5, 8-5 HCAC) will have a bye on Wednesday, before getting back on the court with a home game against Mt. St. Joseph (8-12, 3-9 HCAC) on Saturday at 3:00 pm.