HANOVER, Ind. – The Hanover Panthers (16-10 overall) knocked off Transylvania on Saturday evening as part of the Opening Round of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament, 69-64.
 
Hanover trailed for most of the contest despite the opening five minutes. The Blue and Red surged ahead 12-2 following some fantastic play by sophomore CJ Walls (Louisville, Ky.). The Pioneers came soaring back, erasing the double-digit deficit. Transylvania was able to cut the difference to 16-15 at 9:07 to play. They tied the game moments later before a senior Luke Miller (Madison, Ind.) free throw gave HC the slight edge. The Pioneers used back-to-back scores to enter the half leading 31-26.
 
Transylvania led by as many as 55-46 with just under 10 minutes remaining. Senior Michael Donoho (Rockport, Ind.) paced a fierce Hanover comeback using his speed to get to the rim for a fastbreak layup. The momentum slowly began to shift in favor of the home team with Walls sinking a clutch up-and-under shot at 4:05, 60-58. Miller gave HC their first lead of the second half with a deep three-pointer. Donoho handled the rest, netting a free throw with 20 seconds that pushed the contest out of reach.
 
INSIDE THE STATS
Coleman Sater – 18 pts. | 12 reb.
Donoho – 18 pts. | 10 reb.
Walls – 16 pts.
 
Hanover returns to action on Friday, Feb. 28 when they travel to no. 1 seed Anderson.