Men's basketball set to open season with Purple & Gold Tournament

The Defiance men's basketball team will open the season with the Purple & Gold Tournament this weekend. The Yellow Jackets will host Maranatha Baptist on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. and then take on Miami-Hamilton on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m.

The Coach: The Yellow Jackets will be led by first-year Head Coach Josh Gibson who spent the 2020-21 season as an assistant coach at NAIA Indiana University East and has previously served as head coach at Urbana University, Lourdes University, and Brescia University.

In his final year, Gibson guided Lourdes to an 18-13 overall record – the second-highest wins total in school history – after going 7-22 just two seasons prior. Three of Gibson's players earned all-conference recognition and the team led the WHAC in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio while ranking among the top 15 nationally in five statistical categories.

Prior to Lourdes, Gibson became the third-winningest coach in Brescia University history with a 61-58 overall mark. In the 2014-15 season, he was chosen as the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year after guiding Brescia to the KIAC South Division championship, the only conference title in the program's history as well as their first appearance in the NAIA Division II National Championship. He also produced the program's first KIAC Player of the Year and Third Team All-American. In 2015-16, Gibson's last year Brescia was rated as high as 27th, the best in school history, in the NAIA Division II national poll. Two of his Bearcats earned First Team All-KIAC honors in his final season.

The Players: Senior Marell Jordan is the top returning scorer for the Yellow Jackets. Jordan, an HCAC Player to Watch for the upcoming season, has earned Second Team All-HCAC honors each of the past two seasons. Last season, he led the HCAC and DC in points per game (20.3) and steals per game (2.3). Jordan paced the team in total points (122), field goals made (47), field goal percentage (.566), free throws made (23), total steals (14), and assists per game (2.5).

Defiance also has senior Tyler Andrew, junior Jabryis Heidelburg, sophomore Cameron Awls, and junior Avonte Jones returning, all of whom started games last season. Andrew started all seven games, finishing second on the team with 35 rebounds and third in total points (81) and points per game (11.6) while also recording 11 assists, five steals, and four blocks. Jabryis Heidelburg made two starts last season and averaged 12.8 minutes per game while totaling six points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists. Awls appeared in all seven games and made one start while Jones averaged 18.6 minutes per game and 3.7 points.

The Schedule: Defiance will play a 27 game schedule with 18 HCAC contests. The Yellow Jackets will play 12 games at the Karl H. Weaner Center this season. The schedule also features exhibition games at NCAA Divison I schools Miami (Ohio) and Bellarmine.

Broadcasts: All home games will be played at the Karl H. Weaner Center and live stats and video can be found on defianceathletics.com.