Freshmen Clint Parker and Robby Brown combined for 32 points off the bench to spark Hanover College's men's basketball team to a 69-49 victory against Blackburn College (IL) in the first round of the NCAA III national tournament.
The game was played Thursday, March 3, in Collier Arena.
Hanover, 24-5 overall, advances to face Illinois Wesleyan University in the second round. The game, which tips off at 7 p.m., will be played Saturday, March 5, in Bloomington, IL.
Parker scored a career-high 20 points in 21 minutes off the bench to lead Hanover. Brown, who logged 24 minutes of action, tallied a career-best 12 points and 10 rebounds. Senior guard Matt Moore added 16 points and five rebounds for the Panthers.
Junior forward Luka Djedovic led Blackburn with 15 points. Junior guard John Essington scored 13 points and junior forward Nick Barnett added 11 points for the Beavers (18-10).
After Hanover jumped out to an early 9-3 lead, Blackburn came roaring back with a 19-4 run during a five-minute period to bolt into a 22-13 advantage with 9:42 left in the first half. Djedovic, the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference player of the year, scored nine consecutive points during the spurt, while Essington added two jumpers for the Beavers.
Hanover countered behind Parker, Brown and Moore. Parker hit a short baseline jumper, Brown scored six points and Moore added four points as the Panthers rallied to snatch a 29-28 lead in the closing seconds of the first half. After a Blackburn turnover in the lane, Hanover went the length of the floor and junior guard Nate Minyard hit a layup just ahead of the buzzer to give the Panthers a 31-28 lead at the break.
With momentum from the late charge, Hanover blew the game open with a 16-2 run to open the second period. Parker scored seven points on three jumpers and Brown added six points in the paint as the Panthers raced to a 47-30 lead just six minutes into the second half.
Essington, the SLIAC's newcomer of the year, returned from an ankle injury to drain three straight jumpers to pull Blackburn within 51-38 with 10:46 on the clock.
Hanover countered with a 10-2 run to stretch the margin to 21 points (61-40) with six minutes remaining. The Panthers then spread the floor. Blackburn would not get the lead below 20 points in the final minutes.
Hanover shot 43.8 percent from the field (28-of-64) and 81.8 percent from the foul line (9-of-11). The Panthers, after being outrebounded 18-13 in the first half, earned a 38-29 advantage on the glass in the game.
Freshman Brice Murphy, who scored eight points off the bench, grabbed six rebounds for Hanover.
Blackburn was 16-of-46 from the floor in the contest (34.8%). The Beavers hit just 6-of-23 attempts in the second half (26.1%). The squad was 12-of-15 from the charity stripe (80%).
The victory evened Hanover's record to 4-4 in NCAA tournament games. The squad is now 3-0 in first-round contests.
Hanover and Illinois Wesleyan will meet for the third time in the NCAA tournament. The Titans, 21-4 this season, have bounced the Panthers out of the tournament twice.
Illinois Wesleyan defeated Hanover 77-67 in the second round last season in Collier Arena. The Titans knocked Hanover out with a 73-67 win in the second round of the 1996 event.
Hanover and Illinois Wesleyan met on the hardwood earlier this season. The Panthers defeated the Titans, 55-53, Dec. 11 in Collier Arena.