Box Score Location: Hanover, Indiana (Collier Arena)
The Basics:
The Mount St. Joseph men's basketball (11-3, 6-1 HCAC) team traveled to take on the Panthers of Hanover College. The Lions secured their third consecutive HCAC road victory and handed Hanover their first conference loss in the process. This win moves the Lions into a three way tie atop the HCAC.
How it happened:
The Mount got off to a quick start in the game, as Bobby Murdock (Cincinnati, Oh/ Anderson) nailed three consecutive three point baskets to open the scoring. Hanover was able to keep the score close in the early going as Cam Fails carried their offense in the early going. The action was back and forth through much of the first half, as there were seven lead changes through the first 15:01 of play. A Jordan Henry (Lexington, KY/ Bryan Station) layup with :05 remaining gave the Lions a five point lead at the break, 33-28.
The Mount would open the second half on a 15-9 scoring run pushing their lead to a game high 11 points with 14:49, Erik Edwards (Cincinnati, OH/ Roger Bacon) scored 6 points during the run. From that point Hanover began to chip away at the Lions lead, for much of the second half the Lions were able to keep them out of striking range. The Lions though were unable to keep Hanover from coming all the way back, as the Panthers finally took their first lead of the second half at 69-68 with 1:47 to play. The game would hang in the balance the rest of the way, with the Lions tying the score again at 70 with a minute to go. The game came down the last few possessions, the Lions had the ball with :30 seconds to play and only :04 seconds on the shot clock. That when Jake Cropper (Georgetown, OH/ Georgetown) made the play of the game. The Lions were denied their first read on the out of bounds play when Henry found Cropper at the elbow, and Cropper was up to the task he delivered a sweet jumper to push the Lions ahead 72-70. Hanover was unable to take the lead again and the Lions sealed the win at the free throw line.
Standouts:
Big man Bobby Murdock lead the way for the Lions, scoring a season high 21 points.
In all the Lions continued to having a balanced scoring effort with four players in double figures. As Edwards chipped in 14, with 8 rebounds, Henry had 12, and Andrew Finley (Cincinnati, OH/ Walnut Hills) added 15.
Cropper continued his solid play off the bench of late, with nine points and four rebounds.
Up Next:
The Lions will play host on Saturday to Earlham College (5-9, 1-6 HCAC). The game will get under way at approx. 3:00 PM. Tune in to MSJsports.com for all of your Lions gameday coverage.
