By Mallory Kemper, sports information intern

The Bluffton University men's basketball team hosted Heartland Conference rival Hanover College on Saturday, February 5. The Beavers fell behind 10-0 less than three minutes into the game and lost 83-76 in HCAC action. Bluffton slipped to 14-6 overall and 7-6 in the HCAC. The Panthers improved to 15-5 overall and 11-3 in conference play.

Junior Brent Farley (Lima/Shawnee) broke the ice for the Bluffton offense as he drove to the hoop for two at the 17:20 mark. A layin by Mike Case gave the Panthers an 18-5 lead at the 15:01 mark. A Mitchell Meyer bucket and a trifecta from Ryan Nowicki gave Hanover their largest lead of the night, 23-9.

Nick Lee (Mt. Blanchard/Vanlue) responded with a triple followed by a steal and layin from Josh Fisher (Rockford/Parkway). The Beavers were within six (23-17) with 9:55 to play in the opening half.

With 4:01 on the clock, Will Pope (Somerville/Preble Shawnee) went to the hoop for a bucket with an assist from Nate Heckelman (Norwalk). A couple of free throws by Pope gave Bluffton its first lead, 31-30, with 2:43 left. Consecutive three-pointers by Cody Osmon put the Panthers up 39-33 at the break.

Hanover opened the second half with back-to-back layins from Nowicki and Meyer. At the 14:07 mark, Hanover led by 10 (56-46). Bluffton chipped away at the lead until the Beavers finally went ahead 64-62 with a Dustin Kinn (Alvada/New Riegel) basket and a Mychal Hill (London/Jon. Alder) triple.

With the Beavers on a roll, a layin from Fisher and a trifecta by Lee made it 69-64 Bluffton. From there the Panthers responded with a bucket by Nowicki and a couple of free throws from Jacob Rieger. Bluffton was unable to get the stops it needed as Hanover went on to post an 83-76 win in Heartland Conference action.

Freshman Dustin Kinn paced the Beavers with a career-high 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting. Will Pope contributed with 14 points on 5-of-8 from the field. Mychal Hill added 11 points with four assists and Nick Lee chipped in with 10 points.

The Panthers had four players in double digits. Ryan Nowicki led the visitors with 18 points on 7-of-13 from the field. Meyer and Case added 15 apiece and Grant Pangallo chipped in with 12 counters.

The Beavers hit 23-of-60 (46.7 percent) while the Panthers made a blistering 33-of-57 (57.9 percent) from the field. Hanover pulled down six more rebounds (35-29). Bluffton forced the visiting team into 11 turnovers while only committing seven miscues. The Panthers finished the game 8-of-16 (50 percent) from long distance.

The Bluffton University men's basketball team will host Anderson on Monday, February 7 for a make-up game at 7:30 p.m.