BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Heartland Conference announced the All-HCAC slections on Thursday, March 11. Three Beavers were recognized for their outstanding work on the hardwood during a unique 2020-21 men's basketball season. Junior Jameel Cosby (Springfield/Kenton Ridge) secured first team honors, while Dezman Brown (Elyria) was named Second Team All-HCAC. Fellow senior Aaron Rich (Greenville) picked up his first post-season All-HCAC award, collecting honorable mention acclaim.
Cosby was one of just six players from the 10 Heartland Conference teams to be named First Team All-HCAC. He led the Beavers and was 6th in the conference with 15.8 PPG. The talented guard hit 86-of-178 from the field (48.3 percent), including 20-of-51 (39.2 percent) from distance. Cosby was second to Ronnie James (Cleveland/Benedictine) with 35 assists and second to Brown with 16 steals. He led the Beavers with eight blocks and is just outside the top 50 all-time with 765 career points heading into his senior campaign.
Capping off his fantastic four years with a third straight All-Heartland Conference honor, Brown was named second team after being selected as the HCAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2018-19. He was Honorable Mention All-HCAC as a junior in 2019-20. Brown put up 12.3 PPG and pulled down 3.7 RPG this season. He led the Beavers with 26 steals while handing out 29 dimes as a senior.
Brown finished at number 46 on the all-time scoring list with 830 points (8.8 PPG). His 84.4 free throw percentage is 3rd all-time behind Kevin Christie and Austin Rohde. He is 11th on the career sheet with 132 makes from distance. Brown was an unselfish two-way player that matched up against the best scorers in the HCAC on a nightly basis and he had a knack for finding the bottom of the net when Bluffton needed it most.
A four-year starter for the Beavers, Rich was an exceptional leader that battled through injuries and and health issues his final two seasons. He bucketed 8.2 PPG and led the Beavers with 7.7 RPG which was 4th in the conference. Rich was also an adept passer out of the post, doling out 24 assists this season. He hit 48-of-95 from the field for 50.5 percent shooting. Rich finished his career 16th on the all-time list for field goal percentage at 54.5 percent (322-of-591).
Bluffton rolled off 10 consecutive wins to open the season, shattering the school record of six wins to start a season, and putting the 2020-21 squad third all-time behind the 2005-06 and 2006-07 teams (11 wins in a row) for consecutive wins at any point of a season. The Beavers played in their fourth consecutive Heartland Conference tourney this season and Bluffton's 11 wins pushed Head Coach Guy Neal to 382 victories for his career!
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