HANOVER, Ind. – The Hanover College men's lacrosse team used a first half surge to shoot past the Mount St. Joseph Lions in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference action on Tuesday afternoon. The Panthers claimed the 17-2 victory.
 
Hanover was led in the contest by senior Ian Kimmins (Dayton, Ohio) with a game-high four goals on 12 shots. He also added a team-best three assists.
 
The Panthers scored early and often as senior Eric Hopkins (Evansville, Ind.) delt the game's first blow in the 7^th minute to push HC out in front 1-0.
 
The Lions found the equalizer minutes later, but the excitement wouldn't last long as Hopkins charted his second goal of the afternoon with 2:13 to play in the first period, 2-1.
 
The scoring frenzy continued into the second quarter as Kimmins provided back-to-back daggers that pushed the difference to 4-1. At the 11:26 minute mark, sophomore Michael Schaeper (Cincinnati, Ohio) netted a Panther blow before another pair of Kimmins strikes blew the game wide open, 8-1.
 
Hanover tacked on two more scores in the first half as senior Jackson Wheeler (Indianapolis, Ind.) and junior Josh Perkins (San Diego, Calif.) closed out the half with a series of goals that gave HC the 10-2 halftime lead.
 
The second half would see Wheeler capture his second goal of the contest at the 14:35 minute mark to extend the advantage to 11-2. Perkins followed suit as he delivered a blow at the 14:13 mark before another Wheeler goal saw Hanover blow the game wide open, 13-2.
 
They added one more goal in the third period and three in the fourth to capture the convincing 17-2 HCAC win.
 
Hanover returns to action on Saturday, April 17 when they take on Earlham. Game time is set for 4:00 PM.