Men's Basketball Picked Third in 2014-15 HCAC Preseason Poll

GREENWOOD, IND. – The Defiance College men's basketball team has been selected to finish third in the 2014-15 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll.

The Yellow Jackets had 83 points and two first-place votes to place second out of 10 teams.  Hanover (Ind.) College was picked as the preseason favorite garnering 93 points and four first-place votes.  Mount St. Joseph University was tabbed second with 86 points and a pair of first-place votes.  Also receiving first-place votes was Rose-Hulman (Ind.) Institute of Technology who was predicted to finished fourth and had 74 points.

"The preseason poll shows how competitive the conference is going to be this year," said first-year Head Coach Tom Heil.  "We are fortunate to compete in a great league with great coaches and look forward to a very competitive conference season."

DC is coming off of a successful season in 2013-14 that saw the Yellow Jackets finish with a 20-6 overall record and 15-3 in the HCAC.  Defiance's 15-3 record in conference play gave them a share of the regular-season title.  It marked the first 20-win season for the Jackets since the 2009-10 season in which Defiance captured an outright HCAC Championship.  

Defiance will return two All-Conference award winners from last season, including first-team All-NCAC forward Bernard Edwards (Sterling, Mich./Cousino).  Last season, Edwards was second on the team in scoring at 15.7 points per game on 42.6 percent shooting (133-of-312).  He was also one of the team's top rebounders grabbing 4.2 boards per game.  In addition, he led the team in free-thows made (101), attempts (133) and was second in three pointers made (42) and blocks (23).

Joining Edwards will be senior guard Mason Roth (McComb) who earned honorable mention All-HCAC accolades last sesaon.  As a junior, Roth started all 26 games and was third on the team in scoring with 9.0 ppg. while shooting 47.5 percent (77-of-162) from the floor.  He led the team in assits with 76 and was second in steals at 29.  He was also tied for the team-lead in free-throw percentage at 82.6 percent (57-of-69).  

Both Edwards and Roth were also named to the HCAC "Players to Watch" list for Defiance along with senior guard Travis Schomaeker (Ottawa/Ottawa-Glandorf), junior forward Wade Wooley (Wauseon), senior forward Kent Tietje (Hamler/Patrick Henry) and senior guard Drew Frizell (Smithville).

Defiance will begin the 2014-15 season on Saturday, Nov. 15 when the Yellow Jackets host Alma (Mich.) College at the Karl H. Weaner Center.  The game is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m.