Athletics

Joey Verax LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania’s Joey Verax has been named 2008-09 Player of the Year and Brian Lane Coach of the Year by the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference. Verax, a senior forward from Falmouth, Ky., was the leading scorer on a 21-5 Transy team that won the HCAC co-championship, then captured the league tournament and the automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship. Lane was named Coach of the Year for the third time after leading the Pioneers to their third regular season conference title and third NCAA berth in four years. He was also honored after the 2005 and 2006 seasons. Transy won 20 or more games for the third time in his eight years as the Pioneers’ head coach. His career record is 136-77. Verax was joined on the All-HCAC first team by senior guard Aaron Cash, a Rockcastle County product. Senior forward Brock Jones (Madisonville, Ky.) and junior Tim Tierney (Ft. Wright, Ky.) were honorable mention picks. Verax, who made the All-HCAC first team for the third straight year, led Transy in scoring with 16.2 points a game. He is also the team’s top rebounder at 5.8 a contest. Earlier this season, he became the 41st Pioneer to surpass 1,000 points for his career. Brian Lane His current total of 1,275 is 25th all-time. Cash was an honorable mention selection as a sophomore while Tierney was a first-team pick last year. Jones is on the squad for

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania’s men’s basketball team spotted Franklin a 14-point lead Saturday, then roared back for a 76-72 win in the men’s Heartland Conference basketball tournament final at the Beck Center, grabbing the HCAC’s automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Championships. Transylvania’s women’s team outscored Hanover by 16 points in the second half Saturday and went on to claim the Heartland Conference’s automatic bid to the women’s NCAA Division III Championship with a 79-69 victory in the HCAC Championship game, also at the Beck Center. The men’s basketball team will travel to Centre for first-round NCAA Division III Championship action this weekend while the women’s squad will head to Washington University in St. Louis. The NCAA Division III Championship pairings for the men’s and women’s tournaments were announced Monday. Coach Brian Lane’s Pioneers (21-5), HCAC regular-season co-champions, will play Guilford (21-5) Friday in Danville. Coach Greg Todd’s HCAC regular season champion Pioneers (22-5) drew last year’s title-winners, Howard Payne (23-5) on Friday. On the women’s side, Washington University (21-4) is ranked second in the country and will face Capital (22-5). The winners will play Saturday. Centre’s men, who lost to Transy in this season’s first game, will meet Averett (20-8). Centre brings a 23-4 mark into tourney play. More details to follow when they become available. For more information, contact Glenn Osborne, sports information director,  at (859) 233-8284 or gosborne@transy.edu.

LEXINGTON, Ky.—For the first time since the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference began holding post-season basketball tournaments, the same school—Transylvania—will serve as host for both the men’s and women’s events Friday and Saturday. Transy’s women won the HCAC regular season outright with a win over Anderson Saturday and earned the No. 1 seed. The men also defeated Anderson and were co-champions with Franklin. The Pioneers got the top seed and the right to host the semifinal and final rounds by winning a tie-breaker. The women’s semifinals will be held at 2 and 4 p.m. on Friday at the Beck Center with Transy playing in the opener against Franklin. The men’s semifinals are set for 6 and 8 p.m. Friday with the Pioneers taking the floor in the second game against Anderson. The women’s finals are set for 5 p.m. Saturday with the men’s championship game following at 7 p.m. Anderson is the No. 2 seed in the women’s event and Franklin is the second seed for the men. Admission is $5 for adults and $4 for senior citizens and students. For more information, contact Glenn Osborne, sports information director,  at (859) 233-8284 or gosborne@transy.edu. Friday, Feb. 27 Women’s Semifinals at the Beck Center Transylvania (20-5) vs. Franklin (15-10), 2 p.m. (Boxscore) Anderson (15-10) vs. Hanover (18-8), 4 p.m. (Boxscore) Saturday, Feb. 28 Women’s Finals, 5 p.m. (Boxscore) Friday, Feb. 27 Men’s Semifinals at the Beck Center Franklin (16-9) vs. Defiance (18-8),

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LEXINGTON, Ky. — Transylvania’s men’s and women’s basketball teams have qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships. Both teams will play on the road this year, beginning play on Friday. The women, under first-year head coach Greg Todd, earned the first NCAA berth in school history, making the 63-team field as an at-large entry. The Pioneers missed getting an automatic berth when they lost 70-69 Saturday to Manchester in the finals of the Heartland Conference Tournament. The Transy women will travel to DePauw on Friday to take on the host Tigers. Transy is 19-8, compared to 25-3 for DePauw, winners of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. Denison (24-4) meets defending national champion Hope (24-3) in the other half of the bracket with the winners meeting on Saturday. Denison won the North Coast Athletic Conference’s berth while Hope represents the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Hope defeated Southern Maine in last year’s national championship game. On the men’s side, coach Brian Lane’s Pioneers will go to Wooster for a rematch with the Scots, a team Transy defeated 91-88 in a second-round game last year at the Beck Center. Centre (23-4), winners of the SCAC tournament, will meet Capital (19-8) in the other half of the bracket with winners meeting on Saturday. Capital represents the Ohio Athletic Conference. Transy’s men advanced to the Elite Eight in last year’s NCAA Tournament before falling to national runners-up Wittenberg. Transy is among 59 teams in the

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