April 3, 2007 

BLUFFTON, Ohio - Senior MIKE ANTHONY (Ohio City/Delphos St. John's), who was named the Heartland Conference Most Valuable Player, was recently selected NCAA Division III Midwest All-District first team by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. He was one of only six players selected from 52 total teams in the Midwest Region and he narrowly missed being named All-American for his efforts on the hardwood in 2006-07.

Anthony, whose steady play over the past four years helped Bluffton to 59 wins, is the second Beaver in three years to be named Player of the Year in the HCAC. He follows Scott Bergman who earned MVP honors following his junior season in 2004-05. Anthony picked up the MVP honor after being named honorable mention All-HCAC the past two years. In conference games, Mike ranked second in scoring with a 17.6 points per game average. He led the HCAC in free throw percentage (89.5 percent) and three-point field goal percentage (52.9 percent). For the season, Anthony paced the Beavers with 16.7 ppg and 4.8 rebounds per game.

For his career, Anthony tallied 1,183 points, placing him 16th on the all-time scoring list at Bluffton. He hit 400-of-787 field goal attempts (50.8 percent), including 82-of-90 (43.2 percent) from outside the arc. His career free throw percentage of 83.8 percent (301-359) makes him the best free throw shooter ever at Bluffton University. He hauled in 408 rebounds, dished out 161 assists and picked up 87 steals while finishing his career with a 12.2 ppg scoring average.

Below are the first and second team NCAA Division III Midwest All-District selections for 2006-07.

FIRST TEAM

                                                              Kent Raymond            So.       Wheaton
                                                              Larry Welton               Jr.        Aurora
                                                              Troy Ruths                  Jr.        Washington
                                                              MICHAEL ANTHONY     SR.        BLUFFTON UNIVERSITY
                                                              Nathan Drury              Sr.        Carroll
                                                              Zach Freeman            Sr.        Illinois Wesleyan

SECOND TEAM

                                                              Chris Tarpley               Sr.        Eureka
                                                              Drew Wessels            Sr.        Augustana
                                                              Nick Feagan                Sr.        Transylvania
                                                              Joey Searle                 Sr.        Transylvania
                                                              Darrick Leonard          Sr.        Aurora

MIDWEST COACH OF THE YEAR - James Lancaster (Aurora)

The Beavers, who finished the year 18-8, 10-6 in the HCAC, matched the school mark of 18 wins set by the 1984-85 squad under the direction of Glenn Snyder. For the second consecutive season, Bluffton won a school-record 11 straight games. Bluffton tied for second place in the HCAC with NCAA automatic qualifier Transylvania University and reached the conference semi-finals for the third year in a row before falling to the Pioneers at Franklin College, 78-66.

-BEAVERS-