HANOVER, Ind. – The Hanover men's basketball team will tip-off the 2021 campaign with a double-header featuring area rival Franklin. The season-opening contest will be played on Saturday, January 9 within the friendly confines of Collier Arena, while game two will be played on the road on Sunday, January 10 at the Spurlock Center.
House Keeping: Fans will not be permitted to attend HCAC events until at least Feb. 15. However, live video and live stats will be available on gameday and can be found on the Hanover athletic website:
https://athletics.hanover.edu/sports/mens-basketball/schedule
Schedule Update: Hanover will play a limited schedule featuring Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference opponents in a home and away format. The 2021 campaign will feature contests with Franklin, Mount St. Joseph, Rose-Hulman, Earlham, Transylvania, and Anderson with the regular season concluding on Feb. 20.
Returning to the Hardwood: Despite losing two key components of the Panther 2019-2020 starting five, head coach
Jon Miller returns a considerable amount of depth. Leading the pack is senior point guard
Isaac Hibbard (New Albany, Ind./New Albany) who claimed All-Conference honors after registering one of his best seasons to date. The senior led the team in total rebounds with 144 and 31 steals, while ranking second in total assists with 103.
Joining him will be senior
Mark Albers (Pendleton, Ind./Pendleton Heights), senior
Connor Washburn (Indianapolis, Ind.), and sophomore
Ty Houston (Union, Ky./Cooper). Albers found his success from long range ranking among the top five in three-pointers made with 28. In the paint, Washburn deemed a force to be reckoned with recording 15 blocks and averaging 3.1 rebounds per contest. Houston saw his rookie year blossom late into the 2019-2020 season as he cracked the starting five for the final 10 games of the Panther season.
Streaks: The Hanover men's basketball team currently holds an eight-game win streak over Franklin, including a 10-1 mark at home dating back to the 2010 season. The last match-up between these two teams occurred on February 5 with Hanover taking down the Grizzles, 74-53. The contest was paced by Albers with 12 points and Washburn with 11 points, respectively.
What's Next: Hanover returns to action on Thursday, January 14 when they travel to Cincinnati, Ohio to take on Mount St. Joseph. The Blue and Red return to Collier Arena on Saturday, January 16 when they welcome the Lions at 1:00 pm.
