Indiana Tech Men Prep for WHAC Tournament
By: Randy Ziemnik
Updated: February 19, 2013
COURTESY: INDIANA TECH ATHLETICS
Fort Wayne, Ind. - The 2012-13 Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament tips off Thursday, Feb. 21 with the conference's top four teams hosting the first round games.
Davenport University captured its second straight regular season title and will be the tournament's top-seed. DU also receives the conference's first automatic berth to the 2013 NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship Tournament. The winner of the conference tournament will receive the second berth. The tournament runner-up will receive the bid if Davenport wins the tournament.
Third-year Head Coach Al Grushkin guided the Warriors to their third straight 20-win season, finishing tied for fourth place in the standings with a 21-9 overall record and a 14-8 mark in the WHAC.
However, Indiana Tech will be the 5th-seed in the tournament due to tiebreakers and will be on the road for their first round matchup with 4th-seed Cornerstone University.
Cornerstone swept the season series from the Warriors, winning 74-69 in the Schaefer Center and 80-77 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Despite playing with one of the smallest rosters in the country, the Warriors enter the postseason with one of the toughest defenses ranking top-5 in NAIA DII in three-point field goal percent defense, turnover margin, and scoring defense per game. Tech also ranks top-15 in field goal percent defense and blocked shots.
Leading the way for the Warriors this season has been its trio of seniors Melvin Brooks (Memphis, TN/Marion Military), Antonio Cannon (Indianapolis, IN/Ancilla) and Jordan Hickman (Bardstown, KY/Vincennes). Cannon is the team's top scorer with 14.1 points per game while Brooks adds 14.0 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. Brooks, the league's top rebounder, also paces the WHAC with seven double-doubles. Hickman has been a steady force for the Warriors all season scoring 10.6 points per game while playing great defense.
Cornerstone comes in hot as winners of their last five games. The Golden Eagles wrapped up the regular season with a 20-10 record and 14-8 in the conference. CU is one of the top offenses in the WHAC averaging more than 75 points per game and makes their living at the free throw line. The Golden Eagles have been at the charity stripe a conference-best 726 times and have hit 74 percent of their attempts.
The Golden Eagles feature the league's top scorer in Wes Hudson, who is scoring 17.5 points per game. Along with Hudson, CU has a trio of players averaging double digits in Ty Mason, Jake Plite, and Derek Kingshott.
The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start time in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Thursday, Feb. 21.
