Defiance Men's Basketball Loses to Hanover

DEFIANCE, OHIO  --  An 18-4 scoring run by Hanover (Ind.) College that spanned 5:49 in the second half would be the difference maker as the Defiance College men's basketball team lost, 78-65, in a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference game at the Karl H. Weaner Center.

After shooting over 50 percent in the first half, the Yellow Jackets were held to 36.0 percent shooting in the second and ended up converting 44.4 percent (24-of-54) of its overall attempts for the game.  DC was paced by junior Michael Parker (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) with 22 points and had four three-pointers.

Freshman Blake Dunbar (Napoleon) was second in scoring with 11 points and the duo of juniors Chris Holmes (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) and Devin Mangas (Leipsic) completed the high-scorer list with 10 points each.

Hanover (10-9, 8-4 HCAC) led by four points early on, but a jumper by senior Wade Wooley (Wauseon) sparked a 12-4 run that put the Yellow Jackets on top, 14-10, at the 14:57 minute mark of the first half.  The two teams went on trade leads four more times before the end of the period.

Defiance (10-9, 8-4 HCAC) moved ahead on the scoreboard for the final time in the half with 6:13 remaining thanks to a three-pointer by Parker en route to leading by as many as six points, 34-28, with 4:20 to go following a jumper by Dunbar.  The Panthers outscored the Jackets, 9-4, to end the half and narrowed the gap to just a point with a halftime score of 38-37.

The two teams battled to a tie for the fifth time in the game within the first four minutes of the second half by a score of 42-42 on a bucket by Holmes.  The Panthers then went on their run which turned out to be the difference in the game which allowed Hanover to record its largest lead of the game of 16 points, 62-46, with 11:39 left to play.

Defiance would pull to within eight points on two instances, including a 68-60 deficit with just under six-and-a-half minutes to go following another jumper by Dunbar.  But that was as close as the Jackets would get the rest of the way as Hanover extended its lead back to over double figures with a series of jumpers and successful free-throws and went on to post the 78-65 victory.

Hanover ended the game shooting 56.6 percent (30-of-53) and 44.4 percent (eight-of-18) from three-point range.  The Panthers were led in scoring by Wes McKinney with a game-high 27 points.  V.J. Billups was second with 14 points and Cameron Fails scored 11 points.  Rounding out the high scorers was Michal Van Kleunen with 10 points.

DC will look to end its mini two-game losing skid when it travels to Richmond, Ind. for a HCAC game against Earlham (Ind.) College on Wednesday, Feb. 3.  The game is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.