The Anderson University men’s basketball team will travel to Alma College on Monday for the season-opener at 7:30 p.m.

The Ravens return two starters and seven lettermen from last year’s team, which finished 15-12 overall and 7-9 in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference and advanced to the semifinal round of the conference tournament.

Junior Andrew Jones is the leading returnee, averaging 11.1 points and 3.4 rebounds per game in 2008-09. Junior Gabe Miller is the other returning starter, averaging six points, 3.1 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game last year.

Other lettermen include senior Josh Bellamy juniors Ty Riddle (7.3 ppg), Zach Gray and sophomores Brock Morrision (4.8 pppg, 3.1 rpg) and Marcus Bledsoe.

Newcomers are Andrew Bowman (Greenwood), Grant Fulton (Highland), Ryan Harter (Anderson), Michael Horner (Liberty Christian), Kyle Morgan (Rushville) and Tommy Strine (Lakewood Park).

After the opener, the Ravens host Kalamazoo on Saturday in the home opener at 7 p.m. They host Defiance in the HCAC opener (Dec. 2) and play non-conference home games against Augustana (Nov. 28), Wittenburg (Dec. 12), Trine (Dec. 19) and Oberlin (Dec. 3o) as well as road dates with Platteville (Nov. 24) and Earlham (Dec. 21) before New Years Day.

They finish the HCAC schedule with a road game at Hanover (Feb. 20) before the conference tournament starts the following week.

The Ravens are led by fifth-year head coach Tom Slyder, who has a 47-58 record.

The Anderson University men’s basketball team opened the 2009-10 campaign with a 95-60 loss to Div. I school IUPUI on Monday night at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Andrew Jones led the Ravens with 17 points and Ty Riddle had 12 points, five rebounds, three assists and four steals, including three 3-pointers. Gabe Miller also reached double figures with 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds.

Phil Hogan added seven points, four rebounds, four assists and Kyle Morgan chipped in four points and five rebounds off the bench.

IUPUI had a 42-36 advantage on the boards, including an 13-11 edge on the offensive glass. The Jaguars also had the lead in points in the paint (56-18), assists (27-12), turnovers (12-23), points off turnovers (25-9), blocks (8-1) and steals (13-6).

The Ravens shot 36 percent from the field compared to 52 percent for the Jaguars. AU made 7-of-17 shots from 3-point range while IUPUI was 10-of-27 from behind the arc.

The Jaguars led 47-30 at the half and 84-60 with a minute left in the game as both teams emptied their benches. IUPUI scored the final 11 points of the contest.

AU opens the regular season on Nov. 17 at Alma.

The Anderson University men’s basketball team was picked to finish third in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference pre-season coaches poll on Wednesday.

Defending champion Transylvania was selected to finish first with 70 points and four first-place votes. Defiance was second with 59 points and two first-place votes followed by Anderson with 56 points and three first-place votes.

Hanover was fourth (52 points) followed by Franklin (48), Manchester (43), Rose-Hulman (34), Bluffton (26) and Mt. St. Joseph (17).

AU finished last season with a 15-12 overall record and a 7-9 mark in the HCAC, losing in the tournament semifinal round to eventual champion Transylvania.

AU opens the season at Alma College on Nov. 16. The game will be carried live on the internet broadcast at 7:30 p.m. They also play an exhibition game against IUPUI on Nov. 2 at Conseco Fieldhouse at 8 p.m.

Anderson University’s Mike Russell has been named to the All-Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference team for the 2008-09 season on Tuesday.

Russell led the HCAC in scoring at 19.9 points per game and averaged 18 points per game overall. The senior also averaged 2.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.5 steals per game.

He is fourth on the career 3-pointers made list (139), eighth in career scoring average (16.6) and ninth in steals per game (1.52). Russell also is tied for the single game record with nine 3-pointers against Bluffton last year.

Junior Rodney Holliday and sophomores Gabe Miller and Andrew Jones were named All-HCAC Honorable Mention.

Jones was second on the team in scoring (11.1 ppg) and also averaged 3.4 rebounds per game. Holliday also averaged double figures (10.4 ppg) and was second in rebounding (3.9 rpg). Miller averaged six points per game and led the team in assists (83).

AU finished the season 15-12 overall and 7-9 in the HCAC, losing in the post-season tournament semifinal to eventual champion Transylvania.

The Anderson University men’s basketball team lost to No. 1 seed and host Transylvania University 76-69 in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference post-season tournament semifinals on Saturday night at the Beck Center in Lexington, Ky.

Andrew Jones led the Ravens with 15 points and five rebounds, hitting 6-of-10 shots from the field.

Jordan Wiseman and Ryan Fultz each had 15 points and five rebounds. Wiseman also had three assists, making 5-of-8 field goals and Fultz had four assists, hitting 4-of-6 shots.

Brock Morrison was also in double figures with 10 points and five rebounds. Mike Russell added seven points in his final game.

Transylvania shot 56 percent from the field and had more 3-pointers than 2-pointers. They finished 14-of-26 from behind the arc and 10-of-17 inside.

AU finished at 44 percent shooting, including 50 percent in the first half when it led 35-34. The Ravens made 6-of-20 from 3-point range and 15-of-19 from the free throw line.

The Ravens had a 28-25 advantage on the boards, including 11-5 on the offensive glass. The Pioneers had the edge in assists (16-13) and blocks (5-1), but the Ravens had the lead in turnovers (7-10), points off turnovers (17-3), steals (3-1), points in the paint (26-12), second chance points (12-8) and bench scoring (30-15).

The Ravens finished the season 15-12 overall and 7-9 in the HCAC.

The Anderson University men’s basketball team defeated Bluffton University 62-47 in the first round of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference post-season tournament on Tuesday night at Founders Hall in Bluffton, Ohio.

The victory sets up a semifinal match at top-seeded and regular season champion Transylvania on Saturday night at 8 p.m. The Pioneers (19-5, 13-3 HCAC) defeated the Ravens (15-11, 7-9 HCAC) twice in the regular season, including an 82-77 decision in Lexington, Ky.

Jordan Wiseman led the Ravens with 13 points, nine rebounds and three assists, hitting 5-of-6 shots from the field, including all three of his 3-point attempts. Mike Russell also had 13 points, hitting 6-of-10 field goals, including a 3-pointer.

Andrew Jones was also in double figures with 12 points, four rebounds and a team-high four assists. Gabe Miller added nine points, two rebounds, three assists and Rodney Holliday chipped in with eight points and three rebounds.

The Ravens shot 53 percent from the field, including 5-of-12 from 3-point range. Bluffton finished at just 33 percent shooting, including 8-of-27 from behind the arc.

The Beavers had a 29-26 advantage on the boards, but the Ravens had the edge in turnovers (8-15), points off turnovers (21-2), assists (13-9), steals (9-2) and points in the paint (26-16).

The Ravens scored the first six points of the game and led wire-to-wire in the contest. The led by as many as 12 points in the first half, including a 28-21 advantage at the half. The Beavers closed to as many as four points, but a 7-0 run pushed the lead back to 35-24 and the lead was never under five the rest of the way. AU led by as many as 17 points in the second half.

The Anderson University men’s basketball team lost to Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference regular season champion Transylvania University 78-74 on Saturday at O.C. Lewis Gymnasium on Senior Day.

Mike Russell led the Ravens with 17 points, including 13 in the first half. The senior hit 5-of-14 shots from the field and all four of his free throws, including three 3-pointers.

Brock Morrison had 14 points and seven rebounds off the bench in just 13 minutes, making 4-of-5 shots, including a pair of 3-pointers. Ty Riddle had 12 points off the bench, including four 3-pointers.

Andrew Jones added 10 points and Jordan Wiseman chipped in with seven points and a team-high seven rebounds. Senior Brandon Coffer had four points and a team-high five assists in his final home game.

AU shot 43 percent from the field, including 9-of-23 from 3-point range while Trany finished at 53 percent shooting and was also 9-of-23 from behind the arc.

The Ravens had a 36-30 advantage on the boards, including 15-7 on the offensive glass. AU also had the edge in assists (16-14), turnovers (13-15), points off turnovers (15-8), points in the paint (28-26) and bench scoring (34-13).

AU finishes the season 15-10 overall and 7-9 in the HCAC. They will be the No. 5 seed in the HCAC tournament and travel to No. 4 Bluffton on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

The Anderson University men’s basketball team lost to Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference rival Manchester College 67-55 on Wednesday night at O.C. Lewis Gymnasium.

Andrew Jones led the Ravens with 12 points, hitting 6-of-13 shots from the field.

Brock Morrison had a double-double off the bench, finishing with 10 points and 10 rebounds in 22 minutes. Vincent Dupree added 10 points and three rebounds off the bench in 15 minutes, including a pair of 3-pointers.

Gabe Miller chipped in with nine points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals and Mike Russell had a team-high four assists.

Anderson shot 34 percent from the field compared to 48 percent for Manchester. The Spartans made 6-of-12 from 3-point range while the Ravens were 5-of-23 from behind the arc.

Manchester had a 39-37 advantage on the boards, but AU had a 15-9 edge on the offensive glass. The Ravens also had the lead in turnovers (11-15), points off turnovers (16-13), second chance points (17-6) and steals (7-5).

AU (14-10, 7-8 HCAC) hosts Transylvania on Saturday. The game will be carried live on WQME 98.7 FM and the internet broadcast from O.C. Lewis Gymnasium at 4 p.m.