DC's Furious Rally Turned Away by Hanover in Final Seconds

DEFIANCE, Ohio – Defiance College used a 14-4 charge to erase a 10-point deficit in the closing moments of Saturday's Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference showdown with Hanover but a Panther hoop with five seconds remaining spoiled the comeback and sent DC to the 80-78 defeat.

The Panthers entered play on Saturday ranked last in the HCAC in three-point field goal percentage with a 26.8-percent clip, but HC had its sights set from beyond the arc on Saturday with Grant Pangallo sinking his first three triples of the day and a Ryan Nowicki trey opening up a 17-10 lead for HC out of the gates.

Defiance answered by scoring 11-straight points and 15-of-17 to build a 25-19 cushion, before two more Hanover shots from downtown found their mark to force a 25-25 tie. The Jackets would claim a 33-31 edge, but a Mike Cass jumper with six seconds to play in the half sent the teams to the break knotted at 33-33.

The Panthers continued to pour it on from three-point distance in the final stanza, as Nowicki opened the period with a three to spark a 9-2 rally for Hanover. The quick start gave the Panthers the 42-35 lead, before yet another Nowicki triple ended a 6-0 run from the Purple and Gold.

Pangallo and Nowicki continued to keep Defiance at bay, each connecting on another triple to make the Panthers 10 of their first 20 from downtown and maintain the lead at 51-45 with 12:36 to play.

The Jackets battled back once again to tie the game on a three from Wolfrum at 53-53, only to see HC score the next four points to regain the lead. A trey from Mitchell Meyer capped an eventual 10-1 surge from Hanover and opened up a 74-64 cushion with 2:09 showing on the clock.

That set the stage for the frantic finish, as a four-point play from Wolfrum ignited the final charge from Defiance and trimmed the margin to six. A pair of free throws from Wolfrum narrowed it to five, before an Anthony Brown jumper brought DC within 75-72 with 1:17 to play.

The Jackets continued to attack the reeling Panthers, as Leroy Lewis found an open Ryan Hicks under the hoop to make it a one-point contest with 25 seconds left and an old-fashioned three-point play from Wolfrum finally drew DC even at 78-78.

Despite the Defiance rally, Hanover closed the game like it ended the first half, with a key bucket with only a few ticks left on the clock. This time, Pangallo ended what he started, hitting a baseline floater over several Yellow Jackets to put HC back in front, 80-78, with five seconds remaining.

Wolfrum gave DC one last hope, charging past half court before heaving a potential game-winning three at the horn. The shot was on target but flew long and off the back of the rim, ending the classic game and allowing Hanover to escape with the two-point victory.

Pangallo and Nowicki were the story for the Panthers, as Pangallo ended with 20 points on five-of-seven shooting from three-point range. Nowicki added 16 of his 19 in the second half and added five assists, as the backcourt duo helped the HCAC's poorest shooting three-point team sink 12-of-25 attempts from long range on the afternoon.

Wolfrum nearly single-handedly brought Defiance to the brink of a thrilling comeback victory, pouring in 22 of his game-high 37 points in the second half on seven-of-10 shooting after the break. The sophomore guard added six rebounds and five assists, while turning the ball over only once and netting 10 points in the final two minutes.

Hicks got his first collegiate start and continued to impress early into his rookie season. The reigning Northwest Ohio Player of the Year had 13 points, 11 boards, one block and one steal for his first double-double but the rest of the Yellow Jacket roster did not do its part, contributing just 14 rebounds and hitting only 12-of-31 shots in the losing effort.

The loss drops Defiance (3-4, 1-2 HCAC) below the .500 mark for the first time since opening the 2008-2009 campaign with a 2-3 record. The setback was only DC's second home loss in the past two seasons, as Hanover handed the Jackets their only two losses inside the Karl H. Weaner Community Center in the last 17 games on the home planks.

Defiance will look to snap its first two-game slide in 58 games, dating back to November 29, 2008, when it hosts Adrian (3-3) in a non-conference tilt on Wednesday at 7:30 pm.