DC Men Voted Second on the Hardwood in HCAC Poll

GREENWOOD, Ind. – The Defiance College men's basketball team has become a staple near the top of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference standings in recent years and has been picked by the league's head coaches to contend for the championship once again. DC finished second with 59 votes in the HCAC Preseason Poll and placed four on the HCAC Players-to-Watch list. [HCAC Release]

The Yellow Jackets went 18-9 during the 2008-2009 campaign and ended third in the conference with a 12-4 clip. The 18 victories and ensuing trip to the HCAC Semifinals gave Defiance three-straight seasons in which it has won at least 17 games, while advancing to the semifinals or championship game of the HCAC Tournament.

DC has racked up 54 victories over the past three years and has been a consistent contender in the HCAC with a 34-14 league record during that span. The Jackets have fared especially well in conference games of late, winning 25 of their last 32 HCAC games for a .781 winning percentage.

A six-man senior class will look to continue those winning ways in 2009-2010 and will be joined by a talented five-man sophomore class, as the Jackets return 11 lettermen and four starters from one year ago. The veteran group will be joined by an eight-man rookie class, which should provide ample depth for a fast-paced DC attack.

A quartet of HCAC Preseason Players to Watch will anchor the squad for Defiance, with seniors Mike Floyd, Nick Sales and Heath Armstrong joining sophomore Anthony Brown to form a very strong core for the Jackets.

DC's high-powered attack will start with the play of Floyd, as the three-time All-HCAC floor general led the conference and ranked 10th in the nation by dishing out 6.8 assists per night last season. The senior point guard will enter his final collegiate campaign ranking second in school history with 367 career assists, after dishing our four-or-more helpers in 22-of-26 games as a junior. Floyd also averaged 7.7 points and 3.4 rebounds per game, while ranking second in the league with a 2.02 assist-to-turnover ratio and 12th with 1.15 steals per outing.

Floyd's main target will be senior forward, Nick Sales, who set new career highs in games started, points, rebounds and steals last season. Sales netted 16.1 points and 8.7 boards per night, while ranking ninth in the nation with a blistering 63.8-percent clip from the floor. Those numbers climbed to 17.5 points and 9.6 rebounds per game over DC's last 17 contests, as Sales fueled the Jackets down the stretch. The two-time All-HCAC selection will enter his final collegiate season just 70 points shy of becoming the 43rd member of DC's 1,000-point club.

Heath Armstrong earned his first All-HCAC nod as a junior, after registering career highs in numerous statistical categories. The sharp-shooting guard averaged 9.0 points a game behind 39.0-percent shooting from beyond the arc and upped those numbers to 10.4 points per night and a 42.1-percent clip from three-point territory in 16 HCAC contests. The Yellow Jackets excelled when Armstrong was clicking, going 9-1 when the guard scored in double figures and 13-4 when Armstrong sank at least two trifectas.

Another integral part of DC's success in the upcoming season will be Anthony Brown. The sophomore guard turned into one of the top young scoring threats in the HCAC one year ago and reached double figures 11 times, while ending fourth on Defiance with 7.6 points per game. Brown ranked among the top 15 players in the conference by shooting 35.4 percent from three-point range and hitting 1.30 treys per night. Brown's shooting was clearly reflected in DC's results, as the Jackets went 8-1 when Brown hit more than one three-point shot.

Defiance will not be alone in its quest for the HCAC Championship, as Transylvania, Anderson, Hanover and Franklin figure to battle the Jackets for position in the standings throughout the season.

Transylvania earned 70 points and led the preseason poll with four first-place votes, while Defiance took a pair of first-place votes and ended second with 59 points. Anderson earned the remaining three first-place ballots and finished third in the poll with 56 points, with Hanover (52), Franklin (48), Manchester (43), Rose-Hulman (34), Bluffton (26) and Mount St. Joseph (17) rounding out the preseason rankings.

DC will open its 2009-2010 season on November 15, when it plays at Kalamazoo in a 3:00 pm tip. The Jackets first home game is set for a 7:30 pm start on November 24, when Defiance welcomes Ohio Wesleyan to the Karl H. Weaner Community Center.