Hanover College's men's basketball squad earned sole possession of first place in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference with a 55-51 victory against Transylvania University (KY) Wednesday, Jan. 21, in Collier Arena.
Senior guard Thad McCracken (Heltonville , IN) hit a jumper with 1:54 left to snap a 51-51 tie. He sealed the win with two free throws with 14 seconds left.
The triumph raised Hanover 's record to 15-1 overall and 5-0 in the league. Transylvania , which entered the game with a six-game winning streak, dipped to 10-4 overall and 4-1 in the HCAC.
McCracken and sophomore forward Ben Lye (Taylor Mill, KY) scored 12 points each to lead Hanover . Sophomore forward Brian Chrin (Loveland , OH) added 10 points for the Panthers, which shot just 33.9 percent from the field (20-of-59).
Transylvania sophomore center Matt Finke led all scorers with 19 points, including 12 in the second half. Freshman forward Ryan Kizer added nine points off the bench for the Pioneers.
After trailing 23-22 at the intermission, Hanover outscored Transylvania 15-5 to open the second period to grab a 37-28 lead with 15:50 remaining. Finke scored eight consecutive points to spark a run which allowed the Pioneers to pull within 42-40 midway through the half.
Hanover eventually stretched the margin to five points (51-46) with four minutes to go. Sophomore guard Marc Bain canned a long three-pointer to pull the Pioneers within 51-49. Finke converted from underneath to knot the game at 51-51 with 2:20 remaining before McCracken's late heroics.
Poor field-goal shooting plagued Hanover throughout the contest. The Panthers hit just 8-of-28 field goals in the first half (28.6%). The squad hit 2-of-13 three-point attempts (15.4%) in the contest.
Hanover outrebounded Transylvania 41-33. Chrin and junior guard Matt Moore (Evansville, IN) led the Panthers with eight boards each.
Hanover returns to action Saturday, Jan. 24, with a Heartland Conference match against Defiance College (OH). The contest will begin at 5 p.m. in Collier Arena.