DC Men Set for Run at HCAC Tournament Championship

DEFIANCE, Ohio – After ending the regular season with six-straight victories to secure a spot in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament for the 10th time in the past 11 years, the Defiance College men's basketball team will look to ride that wave to its 27th conference championship and second in three seasons.

The Jackets will begin that quest for another HCAC Championship and the automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament on Friday evening in Lexington, Kentucky. DC overcame a four-game deficit in the standings with six contests remaining on the slate to clinch the sixth and final seed on the last day of the regular season and earn a date with the third-seeded Rose-Hulman Engineers.

Defiance (13-12, 9-9 HCAC) and Rose-Hulman (17-8, 11-7 HCAC) will get things started inside of Transylvania's Beck Center on Friday at 6:00 pm, with a shot at No. 2 seeded Hanover (16-8, 12-6 HCAC) awaiting the winner on Saturday at 5:00 pm. The 2012 HCAC Tournament Championship will then be decided on Sunday at 2:00 pm.

The Jackets split the regular season series against R-H, with Defiance avenging an 87-70 home loss to Rose-Hulman on December 3 with a crucial, 62-59, triumph in Terre Haute on February 11. Logan Wolfrum excelled in both meetings and averaged 29.5 points per game on 63.6 percent shooting against the Engineers but DC was beaten on the glass by a margin of eight rebounds per contest.

The other side of the bracket features No. 4 Bluffton (16-9, 10-8 HCAC) and No. 5 Anderson (14-11, 10-8 HCAC) in Friday's 8:00 pm affair, with the top-seeded Transylvania Pioneers (22-3, 16-2 HCAC) awaiting the winner in Saturday's 7:00 pm tip.

Defiance is 13-8 over 10 appearances in the HCAC Tournament and 8-2 in its first game of the event. The Jackets boast a 5-3 mark in the semifinals and are 2-3 in the title game, with HCAC Tournament Championships coming as a No. 3 seed in 2001 and 2010.

DC is 6-5 all-time in the tournament against this year's field, having never lost to Anderson (2-0) or Bluffton (1-0) in the event and owning a 3-3 mark against Hanover and a 0-2 record versus Transylvania. Defiance and Rose-Hulman have never faced each other in the HCAC Tournament.

Tickets will be $5.00 per day, with students and senior citizens being admitted for $4.00. Children under the age of 11 will be admitted at no charge. Children under the age of 11 will be admitted at no charge. Students, faculty and staff from HCAC schools will also be admitted free with a valid college ID.

Fans not making the trip can catch all the action via the video and live stat links provided on the Defiance, Transylvania and HCAC men's basketball websites.