MBB Preview: Jordan approaches major milestone ahead of trip to Transylvania

DEFIANCE, Ohio – As Defiance College hits the road to play Transylvania on Saturday, DC senior Marell Jordan is within striking distance of two major scoring milestones.

Jordan has 1,488 points in 93 games for Defiance College, requiring just 12 more to hit 1,500 for his career. He would also move into 10th place on the program's all-time scoring list with seven more markers. Jordan is poised to become just the fifth Yellow Jacket during the school's NCAA era to hit the 1,500-point plateau joining Logan Wolfrum (2009-13), Chad Kahle (1996-00), Curt Croy (2002-06) and Eric Viney (1998-02). Currently, the Chicago native leads the HCAC at 19.3 points per game.

As a team, the Yellow Jackets are 6-14 and 1-12 in the conference. They score 69.1 points per game and allow an HCAC-high 78.1 points per contest. The last time out, Defiance lost to Manchester at home, 81-67. Landen Swanner led the way for DC with 18 points, his 11th double-digit effort of the year, while Jordan posted 17 with seven assists and six rebounds. Additionally, Jabryis Heidelburg broke out with a 12-point, eight-board performance off the bench.

Transylvania holds one of the last spots in the HCAC Tournament with an 8-5 record in the conference to complement an 11-9 mark on the season. The Pioneers are third in the conference in scoring at 75.4 points per game but rank eighth in points allowed per game at 74.9. Transy has won their last two ballgames and is a double-overtime loss to Manchester away from a four-game winning streak. The Pioneers last played on Wednesday and blew out Franklin at home, 98-68. Individually, Jaylan Green leads the team in scoring at 14.5 points per game and Hunter Penn grabs a team-best 7.7 rebounds per contest, the fifth-highest average in the conference. 

The last meeting between the Yellow Jackets and Pioneers was a 76-62 win by Transylvania at the Weaner Center. Defiance fell behind by 16 points at halftime and could not overcome some early woes. Overall, Transylvania leads the all-time series against Defiance 14-29 in 43 total meetings.

Saturday's tipoff is set for 4 p.m. and live video and stats are available to follow the contest courtesy of Transylvania's sports information.

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