Franklin Men Overcome Deficit at Defiance to Secure NCAA Tournament Berth
March 1, 2008
DEFIANCE, OH – The Franklin College men’s basketball team topped Defiance College on Saturday evening, 82-76, in Defiance, Ohio to claim the school’s fourth Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament title. It was FC’s first conference tournament championship since the Grizzlies knocked off the same Yellow Jackets in 2002.
After trailing by ten at the half, the second seeded Grizzlies pulled out an impressive six point win on the road against the Yellow Jackets to secure the championship. Franklin, with the win, earns the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament set to begin on Thursday.
Franklin (18-9) was red hot from the field, connecting on 28 of 51 field goal attempts for a 54.9% clip. The Grizzlies also hit 11 three-point attempts on the evening and connected on 15 of their 16 attempts from the free throw line. Leading the way for the Grizzlies was junior guard Dustin Marshall (Lexington, Ind./Scottsburg) and junior guard Jace Redman (Mt. Vernon, Ind./H.S.). Marshall led the scoring attack with 25 points and six rebounds, while Redman chipped in 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Marshall was named the tournament Most Valuable Player after averaging 18.5 points in the Grizzlies’ two wins.
Joining Marshall on the all-tournament team was junior guard Jace Redman and Marty Young (Norman, Ind./Brownstown Central). Young averaged 12.5 points per game during the tournament for Franklin.
Defiance was represented on the all-tournament team by senior C.J. Johnson (Toledo, OH/St. Francis DeSales) and junior center Anthony Pettaway (Toledo, OH/Bowsher). Johnson averaged 16 points in two games for DC while Pettaway scored 23 and 14 points during the Jackets’ two tournament games.
Anderson’s Mike Russell (Indianapolis, Ind./Pike) earned the final spot on the all-tournament team with his HCAC Tournament record eight three-point field goals and 37 points against Defiance in the semi-finals.
Defiance finishes the season 19-8 while Franklin will await its first round opponent in the NCAA Division III Tournament.