CINCINNATI, Ohio – The Panthers (16-9 overall, 12-6 HCAC) completed the second half comeback on Friday evening at Mount St. Joseph to secure the no. 3 seed in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament, 71-70.
 
Freshman Cam Freeman (Indianapolis, Ind.) provided the heroics as he went coast-to-coast drawing an and-one for the win. The first year finished with a team-high 19 point while junior Coleman Sater (Ellettsville, Ind.) added 15 points and senior Ty Houston (Union, Ky.) 13 points.
 
Hanover got off to a sluggish start at Mount St. Joseph netting just four points in the first 10 minutes. The Lions capitalized on the slow start claiming the 31-24 halftime advantage.
 
However, the second half saw the Panther offense come alive. Trailing 52-38 at the 11:17 mark freshman CJ Walls (Louisville, Ky.) and freshman William Herald (Fort Thomas, Ky.) netted back-to-back three-pointers. But the Lions responded pushing the difference back to 62-52.  
 
 With their backs against the wall Houston stepped up big recording five straight points for Hanover to pull them within 68-66. The offense continued to click knotting the score with two seconds remaining following a coast-to-coast by Freeman. The freshman drew an and-one that saw them claim their first lead of the evening en route to the win.
 
Hanover returns to the hardwood on Sunday when they host Rose-Hulman as part of the opening round of the HCAC Tournament. Tip-off is set for 4:00 PM.