Jackets Tabbed Fourth in HCAC Men’s Basketball Poll

GREENWOOD, Ind. – The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference released its 2012-2013 HCAC Preseason Men's Basketball Poll on Wednesday, with Defiance College being picked to finish fourth by the head coaches. The Jackets also placed a pair of guards on the HCAC Players-to-Watch List, with senior Logan Wolfrum and sophomore Mason Roth taking the honors.

The Jackets ended the 2011-2012 campaign with an 11-6 clip over their final 17 contests and rallied down the stretch with six-straight wins to close the regular season and secure a spot in the HCAC Tournament. Defiance ended the year with a 13-13 overall mark, securing its sixth-straight year without suffering a losing record.

The Purple and Gold will look to extend that streak and overcome the departure of eight departed lettermen from last season, by leaning on eight returning lettermen and an exciting mix of incoming talent on the 2012-2013 squad.

Defiance will be led by senior Logan Wolfrum and sophomore Mason Roth, as the duo represented DC on the league's Watch List. Wolfrum and Roth each started 25 games for the Jackets last year, leading the team in starts, minutes, assists and finishing first and third respectively in points scored.

Wolfrum will begin his final collegiate campaign as a likely four-time All-HCAC performer and on the short list of favorites to net HCAC Player of the Year consideration. The potential All-American guard will also have his sights set on making Defiance history, as the Ayersville High product and Defiance, Ohio native enters the year needing only 397 more points to become the program's all-time leader in scoring at the NCAA Division III level.

The two-time First-Team All-HCAC standout ranked second in the conference as a junior with 17.4 points per outing and finished third with 3.3 assists, fourth with a 1.3 assist-to-turnover ratio and fifth with 1.1 steals per game. Wolfrum also rated among the league's elite with a 49.0-percent clip from the field, 10 games with at least 20 points scored and five game-winning shots for the Purple and Gold.

While Wolfrum will be the clear main attraction for Defiance, he will have plenty of help, with Roth joining him to form one of the most dynamic backcourt tandems in the HCAC.

Roth garnered serious consideration for the HCAC's Freshman of the Year award in 2011-2012, after starting all but one game at the point guard slot for the Yellow Jackets as a rookie. The poised McComb, Ohio native ended second among all conference freshmen with 10.4 points and 2.8 assists per game, while also ranking among DC's top-three performers in scoring, assists, three-point shots made (1.2) and steals (0.9) per contest.

Roth topped the Yellow Jackets in assists during 12 outings, was the team's leading scorer five times and logged 15 games with double-digit scoring totals after doing so in six-straight games to begin his collegiate career.

Wolfrum and Roth are expected to be joined in the guard rotation by sophomores Travis Schomaeker and Drew Frizell, while newcomers Eli Robertson and Jordan Fair will also complete for court time.

In the paint, Defiance will feature junior forward Ryan Hicks, along with slashing senior Marcus Dunlap and sophomore Kent Tietje. That post trio will be bolstered by newcomers Bernard Edwards, Wade Wooley, Hosie Smith and Kris Carius to complete an overhauled interior for the Purple and Gold.

The Jackets will look to contend with preseason favorites Transylvania and Rose-Hulman for the HCAC Championship. Transylvania earned a national preseason ranking of No. 16 from D3hoops.com and took seven of the 10 first-place votes in the HCAC poll. Rose-Hulman netted the three remaining top votes and grabbed the 30th-highest point total in the D3hoops.com preseason ranking.

Behind Transylvania (97) and Rose-Hulman (92), came Hanover with 76 points in the HCAC Poll. Defiance took fourth with its 64 points and was followed by Franklin (49), Bluffton (48), Manchester (40), Anderson (36), Mount St. Joseph (34) and Earlham (14) in the preseason rankings.

Defiance will get things started on November 6, with a 7:00 pm exhibition at NCAA Division I Oakland. The Jackets will then face another stiff test in the season opener against No. 22 Ohio Wesleyan on November 16. DC and the Battling Bishops will face each other at 6:00 pm in the opening game of the Marietta Tip-Off Tournament.

DC's home opener is slated for Wednesday, November 28, when it hosts Alma at 8:00 pm inside the new-look Karl H. Weaner Community Center.