DEFIANCE, Ohio – The Defiance College men’s basketball team will be looking for its seventh-straight win against Hanover, while taking one step closer to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2001 when it hosts the Panthers on Tuesday at 7:30 pm in an HCAC Quarterfinal contest.

DC completed the 2008-09 regular season with a 17-8 overall mark and a 12-4 clip in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference action to earn the third seed in the six-team event. The Yellow Jackets are led by the powerful inside play of Anthony Pettaway and Nick Sales, who have combined to net 32.5 points and 18.1 rebounds per game.

Hanover won five of its last six games to grab the sixth and final spot in the HCAC Tournament and closed the regular season with a 9-15 overall record and a 6-10 league mark. The Panthers are paced by the athletic Mitchell Meyer, who led the team in scoring 17 times this year and averaged 19.2 points per night.

The two teams met twice during the regular season and Defiance came away with wins in each meeting, despite two drastically different ballgames. The first matchup came on Dec. 6 and saw the Yellow Jackets drop in 14 three-point attempts in the 103-78 dismantling of the Panthers. Hanover then slowed the pace dramatically in the second meeting, forcing DC to grind out the 50-47 victory on its home court on Jan. 24.

The winner of Tuesday’s quarterfinal clash will travel to the campus of Transylvania in Lexington, Ky., to take on the second-seeded Franklin Grizzlies (16-9, 13-3 HCAC) on Friday at 6:00 pm, with the winner advancing to play for the HCAC Championship on Saturday at 7:00 pm.

Tickets for Tuesday’s 7:30 pm tip with Hanover will cost $5 for adults and $4 for students and senior citizens. Children ages 11 and under will be admitted at no cost and all current students, faculty and staff of Defiance College will be admitted at no cost upon the presentation of a college identification card.

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