Madison, Indiana—On Wednesday, January 5 the Lions made the short trek to Hanover College, for Heartland Conference action. The Lions carried a two game winning streak into this game, with a (6-5) record overall. The Panthers of Hanover put their (7-2) overall record on the line, and a top spot in the HCAC standings. As usual the Lions put up a massive fight before falling short in the end by a score of 77-72.
The Lions got the scoring rolling early, as Dayne Gardner finished a layup to earn the first lead of the game. On the first possession of the game for the Panthers, they were able to score, from a layup of their own. The two teams were able to trade buckets on their next individual trips, seeing David Lures notch his first scores of the ball game. The Lions were able to push ahead once again, as Devin Young found the bottom of the net with a layup, with Hanover being able to match the effort on their next trip.
Hanover was able to claim their first lead of the evening, as they were able to get their first two free throws to go down. Lures was able to tie the game back up, sinking a jumper. Brady Thomas was able to give the Lions their lead back, making good on a three-point try.
With 4:19 left to play in the first half, the Lions trailed by a score of 29-26. At this point the Panthers assembled the first run of note, allowing them to go into the final moments of play with a 37-29 lead. With just five seconds of play, Thomas was able to drain a jumpshot to send the Mount into the break trailing 37-31.
Thomas began the second half, the same way the first half ended, knocking down a jumper. In typical fashion, the two teams continued to be in a stalemate. Trailing by a score of 42-35, the Lions began to crawl their way back into the game. The Lions were able to earn scores on back to back possessions, as Lures dished out an assist to Willard Cluxton, then Lures knocking down a jumper on the next Lions trip. After Hanover ended the miniature 4-0 run with a layup, Young found Lures again who continued his hot streak with another jumper. Now trailing by only three, Hanover was able to get another score, holding a 46-41 lead over the Lions.
The Panthers were able to continue to grow their lead, eventually to a mark of 71-55 with 3 minutes of actions remaining. Over the next two minutes of play, the Lions were able to cut the Panthers lead to six, thanks to the output of Seniors Thomas and Young. Down two possession with only 25 seconds remaining, the Lions made their best efforts to stop the clock, but Hanover was able to convert four straight free-throw attempts to close out the ball game.
Despite the hard fought loss the Lions saw massive performances from the pair of Thomas and Young. Young finished the game with a team high 25 points. Thomas also added 22 points for the Lions, while stuffing the stat sheet with 2 blocks, 2 steals, 2 assists and 4 rebounds. Lures also had a great game pouring on 14 points for the Lions total, along with 4 rebounds.
The Mount St. Joseph University Men's Basketball team will return to action on Saturday, January 8 when they travel to North Manchester Indiana to play the Spartans of Manchester University. This game is set to tip-off at 3PM. For continued coverage of this upcoming game and all other MSJ Athletics, continue to follow msjlions.com
