Defiance Wins HCAC Tournament Championship

ANDERSON, Ind. – Defiance College won its 26th conference championship in the history of the men's basketball program with a 70-65 win at Anderson on Saturday night and claimed the HCAC's automatic bid into the NCAA Division III National Tournament.

DC led throughout the majority of the championship game, playing with a cushion until a Gabe Miller three-point shot gave Anderson its first lead of the night. The triple put AU up 35-33 with 17:21 left in the final period and fueled a 9-0 run that gave the Ravens a 39-33 advantage.

The senior duo of Mike Floyd and Nick Sales would not let Defiance be denied however, as Floyd fed Sales for a hoop to snap the Anderson spurt. Another bucket in the key from Sales brought DC back to within a deuce, before Sales found an open Floyd on the wing for a long-distance dagger. A basket from Kevin Tietje pushed the Jackets back up 44-40 and capped the game-changing, 11-1, rally.

Anderson would respond with six-unanswered points from Andrew Bowman to reclaim the 46-44 lead for the Ravens with 10:13 left to play, but Floyd evened the margin with a layup before assisting Logan Wolfrum for a three-pointer to put Defiance in front 49-46.

A Ty Riddle trifecta would momentarily draw AU even, until Floyd answered once again by draining his second three-point shot of the night to give Defiance the 52-49 lead with 7:40 left in the game.

The Jackets would not relinquish the lead from that point on, as they consistently turned away Anderson down the stretch to steadily close in on the 70-65 victory. The five-point win sealed the HCAC Tournament Championship for Defiance and punched its ticket to the NCAA National Tournament for the first time since the 2000-2001 season and the fourth-time in school history. The postseason will also mark the 34th time in school history that Defiance will play in a national tournament, with 30 of those coming during the school's NAIA tenure.

Sales earned HCAC Tournament MVP honors with 16 points, eight boards, five assists, two blocks and steal, while Anthony Brown tossed in 17 points and five rebounds and Logan Wolfrum netted 16 points, as each joined Sales on the All-Tournament Team.

Floyd turned in another gutsy performance with 10 points and seven assists and Kyle Tietje added seven points and seven rebounds in the championship winning effort.

Defiance (23-5) will learn of its draw in the NCAA National Tournament on Monday, when the NCAA announces the Division III field on its 10:00 am selection show.