HCAC Honors Pettaway with Weekly Award

GREENWOOD, Ind. – Anthony Pettaway was named as the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Week on Monday after leading Defiance to a pair of key victories and the 2007-08 HCAC regular season championship.

Pettaway continued his late season surge, averaging 27.0 points, 12.5 boards and 2.5 steals, while shooting 66.7 percent in Defiance’s victories over Manchester and Transylvania. Pettaway played major roles in each of the wins to help the Yellow Jackets secure their 25th conference championship in the program’s history.

Pettaway nearly single-handedly helped the Jackets overcome a nine-point deficit at the half on Wednesday at Manchester by fueling a 16-0 rally to open the second stanza. Pettaway scored 11 points during that stretch, including nine straight before a DC three capped the rally and turned the 35-26 disadvantage into a 42-35 Yellow Jacket lead.

The six-foot, eight-inch center was not finished however, as he would score four of the first eight points of overtime for Defiance, allowing the Jackets to grab the 74-67 lead and the eventual 79-71 victory.

Pettaway ended the game with 27 points on 11-of-18 shooting and added career highs with 15 rebounds and three steals against the Spartans.

The Toledo, Ohio native then turned in his fifth-straight game with over 20 points and 10 rebounds on Saturday, as he poured in 27 points on 11-of-15 shooting and hauled in 10 boards to go with a pair of steals in DC’s 64-59 win over Transylvania.

Pettaway was a force from the opening tip to the final horn, logging 37 minutes and bolstering a sluggish DC offense throughout. Pettaway kick-started the DC attack in the first half by scoring 12 of its first 20 points and then hit a baseline jumper in the final seconds to ice the victory and seal the HCAC regular season crown.

Pettaway has been red hot over his last five, averaging 24.8 points and 11.8 rebounds, while shooting at a 65.5-percent clip from the field. The junior has climbed to fifth in the HCAC with 15.8 points a night in league action and is now second in the conference with 8.8 boards a game. Pettaway also ranks among the top five players in the conference in field goal percentage, steals and blocks.

The Jackets (17-6, 12-2 HCAC) will play at Franklin on Wednesday, before hosting Rose-Hulman for Senior Day on Saturday at 3:00 pm. DC will then host the semifinal and final rounds of the HCAC Tournament on Feb. 29 and March 1 in the Karl H. Weaner Community Center.