DEFIANCE, Ohio – Just two days removed from electrifying the Karl H. Weaner Center crowd with a win at the horn to move past Hanover, 69-68, the Defiance College men’s basketball team is hoping to ride that wave of momentum into the final weekend of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament.

When Anthony Pettaway’s season-saving, 20-foot jumper found the bottom of the net in Tuesday night’s quarterfinal victory, Defiance punched its ticket into its third-straight appearance in the HCAC Semifinals and a date with the second-seeded Franklin Grizzlies on Friday at 6:00 pm.

This year’s semifinal field has a familiar look, as Defiance and Franklin join Anderson and Transylvania to repeat the league’s final four grouping from one year ago. Only the pairings and location are different this time around, with the action set to take place in the Beck Center on the campus of Transylvania in Lexington, Ky.

The semifinal round will begin on Friday night, with DC and Franklin squaring off at 6:00 pm before the top-seeded Pioneers host the fifth-seeded Anderson Ravens in an 8:00 pm tip. The HCAC Championship and league’s automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament will then be up for grabs on Saturday evening at 7:30 pm, when the two semifinal winners face off.

Defiance went 12-4 through the HCAC regular season schedule to earn the third seed and split the six meetings against the semifinal foes of Franklin, Anderson and Transylvania. Five of the six outcomes were decided by seven points or less, with the lone double-digit result coming in the form of an 80-65 win over Franklin on DC’s home court. Defiance went on to sweep the season series against the Grizzlies, while splitting a pair of games with Anderson and going 0-2 against Transylvania.

Tickets can be purchased at the gate and will be sold at $5 for adults and $4 for seniors and students. HCAC students, faculty and staff will all be admitted at no cost with the presentation of identification cards.

Fans not making the trip can follow the action by watching the free online webcast or the online live stats. Links to those broadcasts can be found on the Defiance, Transylvania and HCAC men’s basketball websites.

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