HANOVER, Ind. – The Hanover (1-1 overall) men's basketball team welcomed the Little Giants of Wabash to Collier Arena on Tuesday evening as part of their home-opener, falling in the non-conference contest 79-69.

Hanover was paced by junior Brice Gilman (Clinton, Ind.) with a team-high 25 points. Teammates, senior Ty Houston (Union, Ky.) and senior Jack Wininger (Elnora, Ind.) added 14 points apiece.

The opening half saw both teams look to push the tempo as Wabash surged ahead 8-2 before Brice Gilman connected from long range with just over 15 minutes to play. Hanover continued to rally pulling within 13-11 as Ty Houston hit a layup in the lane at the 11:29 mark.

But the excitement was quickly spoiled as Wabash used a 7-0 run to push the difference to 20-11. They entered the intermission with the commanding 40-28 advantage.

The second half saw the Panthers come roaring back as Houston set the tone with a jumper in the lane that sparked a 6-0 run cutting the deficit to 40-35 at the 17:45 mark. However, the Little Giants remained poise pushing the difference back to double digits.

In front of an electric crowd the Panther offense went to work with back-to-back blows by Gilman and Houston pulling HC within 53-49 forcing at Wabash timeout with 11:57 remaining. They continued to chip at the lead as Gilman and Wininger erupted Collier Arena with back-to-back three-pointers that saw HC pull within 62-60.

However, that's the closest the Panthers would come as Wabash out scored the Blue and Red by a significant margin in the final five minutes for the win.

The Panthers return to action on Saturday, November 18 when they travel to Wheaton for the Wheaton Tournament. Tip-off is slated for 8:00 PM.