Senior guard Thad McCracken (Heltonville, IN) canned six three-pointers to spur Hanover College's men's basketball team to a 65-44 victory against the College of Mount St Joseph (OH) in a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference tilt, Wednesday, Feb. 18, in Collier Arena.
The triumph was Hanover's 13th in a row against the Lions (13-0) and raised the Panthers' mark to 23-1 this season. The squad, which clinched the league's regular-season crown last week, improved to 13-0 in conference games.
Mount St. Joseph dipped to 9-15 overall and 3-10 in the league.
McCracken, in his final regular-season home appearance, finished with a game-high 20 points. Junior forward Ryan Lanning (Brookville, IN) notched 13 points. Sophomore forward Ben Lye (Taylor Mill, KY) added 12 points off the bench.
Sophomore forward Derrick Jones led Mount St. Joseph with 10 points. Senior forward Matt Volkerding had nine points and a game-high 11 rebounds for the Lions.
Hanover hit its first two shots from the floor, then went nearly seven minutes without a point. Mount St. Joseph used the drought to grab a 12-5 lead five minutes into the contest. Lanning ended the Lions' 9-0 run with a three-pointer at the 11:52 mark. The Panthers eventually tied the game at 18-18, then put together a 7-0 run late in the first half to help build a 33-27 lead at the break.
Mount St. Joseph cut the margin to 36-34 in the opening minutes of the second period. McCracken drilled two three-pointers to help the Panthers gain a 48-39 edge with 10 minutes remaining.
Hanover, with five points from McCracken, closed the game by outscoring the Lions 17-5. Mount St. Joseph did not score from the field and was limited to a pair of free throws in the final nine minutes of action.
Hanover outrebounded the Lions 34-33. Lanning and junior center Tommy Dennis (Mooresville, IN) led the Panthers with six boards apiece.
Hanover, which has reeled off 14 consecutive wins, will closed the regular-season Saturday, Feb. 21, on the road against Franklin College. The HCAC battle will tip off at 3 p.m.in Franklin , IN.